Alive again
by meganoodledoodle
Summary: Kadaj has come back to life and he doesn't know where he is or what he's doing there, will he find all his brothers? and will they ever be a family?
1. Chapter 1

**Alive again**

**chapter 1 savior**

**author's note:  **my first final fantasy fiction, if i've got something wrong please tell me, i've never played the game, this is based on what i've seen advent children, wikipedia and wikia, such helpfull things they are anyway please enjoy

**disclaimer: i do not own final fantasy, all rights go their repected owners**

Kadaj opened his sea green eyes and drew in a shaky breath; he wasn't in the lifestream anymore. He was lying on the edge of a forest; snow was falling steadily and covered his hair and clothes. It hurt dreadfully to be cast out and forgotten, left alone to die in the dark. The Mother was gone too, gone were the comforting whispers when he couldn't sleep, and the gentle voice showing him around the Lifestream and introducing him to some of the souls who rested there. All where gone now and he didn't think he would see them again.

He shivered, he had never felt so weak in his life, when he was lying in Cloud's arms dying was nothing compared to this; Kadaj blinked and felt the snow beginning to melt on his clothes, soon it would soak his body and he would slowly die of hypothermia "Mother" he moaned and somehow managed to roll over onto his side, a few useless tears side down his pale cheeks as he closed his eyes, he was going to die

All of his hard work was for nothing, all the time and effort taken to find mother and she had abandoned him when he was dying in the enemy's arms, he had never expected Cloud to win, Sephiroth always sounded so strong when he talked in his head, and when he was fighting his movements were so smooth and controlled that Kadaj wondered if he really was an angel. But Cloud had cut the strength out of his body and hurt him badly, Sephiroth had reteated his mind grievously wounded and filled with pain, then left for Kadaj's body had been the strain of battle, he wondered what had happened to Yazoo and Loz

"Kadaj...?" a tall figure was striding towards him, a red cloak billowing behind him

"Vincent…." Kadaj moaned and reached out with a trembling hand, he didn't care if he was going to die now; he just wanted the pain to go away forever. Vincent knelt down beside the injured teenager then glanced around quickly

"What are you doing here?" his red eyes stared as the snow slowly turned scarlet around Kadaj

"How should I know…I didn't want to come back" Kadaj almost smirked at Vincent's annoyed expression

Vincent sighed and bent down to talk softly in Kadaj's ear "Listen kid, I'm getting you out of here, there's a cave nearby I can take you there" he pulled out Cerberus and pointed it towards Kadaj's chest "but try anything and…"

"Fine..." Kadaj stiffened slightly as Vincent's arms wrapped around his shoulders and legs, then relaxed as he realized he meant him no harm and let his head loll on Vincent's chest. Vincent flinched slightly

"What's wrong?" Kadaj muttered, Vincent glanced down at him and frowned slightly

"One of your brothers" he said with an amused expression, they can't stop fighting can they?"

"You've seen them...my brothers!" kadaj struggled in Vincent's arms then sagged as a wave of pain swept through him

"Stop it kid, it's quite a way to the cave"

"Does that pass for concern in your tongue?" Kadaj looked up with an innocent expression, Vincent gave him an annoyed look

"Shut it kid"

They walked a little further in silence; kadaj looked up at Vincent, his enemy had become his savior even though he was probably carrying him towards his death, not that he really cared anymore, Vincent stumbled slightly and Kadaj moaned

"How badly are you injured?" Vincent looked down at him, concerned in spite of himself

Kadaj smirked "badly enough to be leaving a trail so people can follow" Vincent whirled around and saw the droplets of scarlet covering the ground, he cursed and glared at kadaj, who shrugged as best he could and winced

"Well I can't stop bleeding can I?"

"No" Vincent said with an evil smirk, he raised his clawed glove and slashed open the teenager coat, "but you can try"

Kadaj squealed in protest as the cold air swept over him. Vincent smirked and looked at the wound on his chest, it wasn't too deep but it could cause problems if it wasn't stitched up, he would do that later. The cuts on his arms would be easy to deal with as well they just needed to be bandaged. He took off his cloak and wrapped it round the boy's shaking shoulders and lifted him up again

"You'll get cold" kadaj muttered closing his eyes as Vincent started to walk again

"I've had worse" he grunted "now shut up"

Kadaj leaned against his rescuer's chest and muttered "touchy"

**please review **

**people who o will get a hug from Kadaj and Vincent**


	2. Chapter 2

**alive again**

**chapter 2 brother**

**disclaimer: i don't own final fantasy, all rights go to their repected owners**

Vincent almost stumbled and quickly righted himself; Kadaj seemed very heavy in his arms now since he had lost consciousness, when he was awake he was at least able to lessen the weight somehow. The smoke rising from the trees was a good sign and Vincent sagged with relief, _thank god I'm almost there_. Kadaj stirred in his arms and mumbled something, Vincent stared down at him and patted his back "Almost there kid, keep it together"

He walked into the cave and set kadaj down on the floor near the fire and cast a quick glance toward the corner of the cave. Kadaj stirred and opened his eyes "Where…are we?"

"In that cave I told you about" kadaj nodded and tried to sit up, Vincent pushed him back down

"No way kid, you stay down" he snarled

Kadaj smirked and sat up again, Vincent sighed and pulled out Cerberus "Now" kadaj glared and lay back down again.

"Where are my brothers?"

"I don't know but seeing as we left a trail" he glared down at the teenager "I don't think it will take that long for them to find us"

"Did Yazoo injure your chest" kadaj muttered sleepily, Vincent smirked and pointed towards the corner

"No that was Sephiroth" his eyes narrowed "he should know you shouldn't attack people who save you from freezing and bleeding to death.

* * *

Kadaj stared wide eyed at the corner, his brother was there and he had never seen him, he felt his mind reaching out on it's own to make contact with the brother he had only ever heard about.

Vincent's hand shot forward and gasped his shoulder "Don't try it; he hasn't woken up since I found him and when I tried that…" he shrugged and went over to the fire to poke a pot hanging above it, Kadaj sighed then winced, the wound in his chest was starting to hurt again.

He rolled over onto his side and peered into the corner, he could dimly make out the shape of Sephiroth lying on his side like he was, and his hand was curled tightly around the hilt of his sword Masamune. Kadaj shivered when he saw the blade and to think he had held that sword and made it dance through the air.

"Weird isn't it?" Kadaj flinched and turned to see Vincent staring at Sephiroth

"What's weird?" Kadaj lifted himself up slightly and groaned

"How he can actually sleep" Vincent looked at him with a cold stare "after all that he's done you would have thought he could never sleep again" he paused and looked down at Kadaj "he looks like you when he's asleep"

Kadaj looked down "Mother didn't think so" he whispered, Vincent took the pot off the fire and brought it over to him

"Go on eat it, you need it more than I do" Vincent grunted and held the pot out to him

"Do you doubt my strength?" Kadaj mentally kicked himself, _what a thing to say when you can't even sit up idiot!_

Vincent raised an eyebrow and pushed the pot into Kadaj's hands "Go on, it's rabbit, it's not like he's going to eat it" he gestured towards Sephiroth and sat against the wall near Kadaj, watching him with scarlet eyes, Kadaj took a wary sip and when he found it delicious gulped it down as fast as he could. Vincent watched amused as he tipped the pot right back to get the last drops, _hard to believe he tried to kill cloud_ he thought then stood up "Take my cloak off"

Kadaj set down the pot licking his lips "Why?" he asked stupidly

"So I can deal with your wounds, the one on your chest needs stitching"

Kadaj practically jumped backwards and pressed himself against the wall shaking his head rapidly "No! No needles!"

Vincent frowned "Do you want to die slowly?" he asked as he searched through his bags and found a needle and thread

"Please…." Kadaj pleaded shaking in terror, "Not them, I've had enough of them, please not again"

Vincent felt his heart soften slightly, hell the kid must have been jabbed with needles all his life, no wonder he was terrified "Listen, I won't do it like them" he placed his hand on the boy's chest and threaded the needle

"P-please….don't" Kadaj's eyes were wide and he struggled wildly, Vincent held him down then pulled the needle through his flesh, Kadaj screamed, not because of the pain for it didn't hurt that badly, it was all the memories of all the times he had been held down and jabbed with needles then tossed sore and bleeding to heal alone in some quiet corner.

Vincent stitched the wound as quickly as possible, he released Kadaj who sank to the floor in a crumpled heap, tears pouring down his face, he had been jabbed again. But this time it was different, Vincent leant him against the wall and gently washed the blood of his chest and arms then he bandaged each wound carefully then laid Kadaj down again wrapping the cloak around him

"Why are you being so kind" he muttered, Vincent thought for a moment before replying

"You didn't know what you were doing, all you wanted was to see your mother, and she just took advantage of you" his eyes narrowed and he turned to stare into the embers of the fire

Kadaj made sure he wasn't looking and crawled towards Sephiroth, when he was about a foot away he stopped and stared at his sleeping form, Vincent was right they did look similar, the same eye shape, the same silver hair even though Sephiroth's was longer and hung past his waist. Kadaj felt a desire to see his brother's eyes, mother always said they were like dark gems, but kadaj always thought they'd be like his, cat like and sea green.

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword, Sephiroth's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down to the level of the glowing mako enhanced green eyes "Don't touch it!" he hissed, Vincent was at his side in a heart beat, pointing Cerberus at Sephiroth's heart, he didn't really need to be there, the movement had taken too much out of Sephiroth and his head slumped back down. "Go away" he muttered

Kadaj reached out again and Sephiroth swatted his hand away weakly "Let me sleep!" he snarled

Kadaj nodded "Okay brother" and sat down beside him, gently stroking his long silver hair, Sephiroth sighed in annoyance but let his brother do what he wanted, if he was happy maybe he would leave him alone for a few minutes.

Vincent stared at the two, amazed. Why hadn't Sephiroth injured Kadaj? He could have been a threat and Sephiroth's nature instincts told him to attack anything that threatened him when he was vulnerable._ It must be their connection through Jenova_

"Vincent" he looked up and saw Sephiroth trapped under Kadaj who had fallen asleep on top of him, Vincent picked him up and set him beside Sephiroth.

"He's scared of needles then?" Sephiroth asked, raising a silver eyebrow

Vincent nodded "You heard?"

Sephiroth groaned "I think the whole forest heard him" he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling "I used to have that fear long ago"

"Really?" Vincent raised an eyebrow, Sephiroth smirked

"As if I'd tell you that"

"You might because I saved your ass" Vincent glared at Sephiroth and he smirked back amused

"Maybe tomorrow" he yawned and closed his eyes

"Bastard" Vincent muttered sat back down in front of the fire

yay for chapter 2

poor Sephiroth getting annoyed by Kadaj, oh well he might learn to put up with him later

please review

:D


	3. Chapter 3

Alive again

chapter 3 a fever and Chaos

**disclaimer:once again i do not own, all rights go to the repected owners**

Yazoo opened his eyes and sat up quickly, an answering groan from underneath him said that he lying on top of Loz

"Get off me Yazoo!"

"Sorry Loz" he stood up and looked around with interest "we must have been kicked out of the Lifestream"

"No shit" Loz got up and brushed the snow off his clothes "where the hell are we?"

Yazoo turned and faced him "if I knew that we might be able to get out of here wouldn't we?"

Loz didn't notice the scorn in his voice he was too busy examining his clothes "my gun, it's gone!" tears of frustration dipped down his cheeks "that Minerva must have taken it!"

"At least we're alive again, we can go find Kadaj" Yazoo turned and saw Loz's tears "don't cry Loz we'll find them"

"I'm not crying!" Yazoo rolled his eyes and strolled off, when they had been alive before he had never had enough time to explore these hidden places, he wondered vaguely where they were and if they were near Big brother; he might know what to do. A faint buzzing came from his pocket

"What's that?" Loz stood beside him and glared at his pocket

"It's my phone" Yazoo frowned "Minerva should have taken that from me as well, shouldn't she?"

The phone continued to buzz in an irritating manner "just answer it will you!" Loz growled. Yazoo flipped the phone open and held it to his ear

"Hello?"

"Yazoo? Is that you?"

"Kadaj, you're alive"

"Well so are you aren't you"

Loz snorted "no we're in the flipping Lifestream still Kadaj, now the where the hell are you?"

There was a slight pause "well there's no need to be like that"

Yazoo sighed "please Kadaj, Loz is crying about his gun and I don't want to freeze to death"

"I'M NOT CRYING!"

"Yes you are Loz!" kadaj taunted from the phone, Loz made a grab for it then stumbled and fell face first in the snow

"Kadaj…." Yazoo looked sternly at the phone. There was a small chuckle

"Fine I'll tell you, but you won't believe who found me"

"Who found you Kadaj?"

"Vincent" Yazoo recoiled slightly from the phone then pressed it hard against his ear

"Why did he help you, are you injured?"

"Sort of, but Vincent helped me"

"Vincent!" Loz looked up; his face covered in snow "why is he here?"

Kadaj ignored him and went on talking "he took me to this cave and I found Sephiroth there already"

"Sephiroth…" Yazoo breathed, his brother, their brother, they would be a family at last….but a family without a father….without a mother

"He's not well though, he's not letting Vincent help him" _if Kadaj had been standing here_, Yazoo thought _he'd probably be biting his lip_

"We're coming Kadaj, tell me where you are"

"Just follow the trail of blood" Kadaj disconnected the call and Yazoo slowly closed the phone, _so Sephiroth was alive in his own body, but at what cost?_

"Yazoo! Let's go find him, I'm not going to sit here and freeze my butt off!"

Yazoo pocketed his phone and strode off, leaving Loz to stumble on behind him.

* * *

"VINCENT! WAKE UP!" Vincent woke up with a start and almost leapt into the fire

"What!" he yelled pulling out Cerberus and pointing it at random places in the cave, Kadaj ran over limping slightly, tears welling up in his eyes

"He attacked me!" he shouted and pointed wildly at Sephiroth who had pressed himself into the wall and was shaking.

_It had to happen sooner or later_; Vincent thought and walked over to Sephiroth "Sephiroth, can you hear me?"

He moaned and drew his lips back over his teeth in a soundless snarl; Vincent shook his shoulders "Sephiroth!"

His eyes snapped open, they were glazed and unfocused, he lifted Masamune and knocked Vincent aside with it, Vincent crashed into the wall and slid down it, blood trickling from under his hair

"Vincent! Wake up!" kadaj howled as Sephiroth screamed and writhed on the floor in some kind of agony

_Wake up Vincent you idiot! Kadaj needs you, hell even Sephiroth needs you and that something that isn't going to happen very often!_ Vincent jerked awake and stumbled back over to Sephiroth

"In the name of Gaia, will you hold him down please!" kadaj leapt forward and pinned his brother to the floor, using his entire weight just to keep him still. He forced Sephiroth's eyes open and looked deep into the cat like slits

"He's got Mako poisoning" Vincent slumped back and gestured for Kadaj to let go of Sephiroth. Kadaj looked confused but did as Vincent asked then leapt back, watching his brother warily. Sephiroth made a few more half hearted thrashes when lay still, his breathing was fast and shallow

"How did he get it?" Kadaj looked at Vincent, his eyes were wild and fearful "it's not like Geostigma is it?"

"No" Vincent winced and felt the cut on his forehead under the red band he always wore "no it's different to that" he took a deep breath and faced Kadaj "Mako poisoning is when the body is exposed to concentrated Mako, Cloud had severe Mako poisoning before and he pulled through, but I haven't seen this kind before" he looked at Sephiroth with interest and concern "so I don't know what will happen"

"How do you think he got it?"

Vincent frowned "I'm guessing, that it's because in the Lifestream there is a huge amount of Mako, he must have been exposed to it"

"You mean the Mother didn't protect him? She protected me" Kadaj kicked the wall "why she didn't help him? She promised me they'd be alright!"

Vincent sighed and took off the red band; he wiped the blood off his forehead with it then put it back on. "She can't help everyone" he muttered

* * *

Sephiroth's mind wandered, it was hard for him to think clearly it was hard for him to think at all. His fatigue had won over last time but now he would wake, his eyelids flickered; lifting them seemed to be the hardest thing in the world. He struggled and finally managed it, the glow from the fire stung his eyes and he almost closed them again but Kadaj had seen and he came over warily, _good….he should be afraid_

Should he really be thinking that about his little brother?

"Sephiroth?" Kadaj leaned over him, his hair tickled his face, Sephiroth breathed in his warm scent and felt a little stronger

"Sephiroth are you okay?"

_No, no I'm not, I can't breathe, I can't see you very well and I feel terrible, mako is in my blood and it burns, by god it burns_

"Vincent, I think he's awake but he's not responding" Vincent's hand brushed the hair out of his eyes, the light hit him square in the face, he shut his eyes with a groan

"He's responding to light, that's good"

_Is it? God that light, make it go away please. It hurts… please_

"_Sephiroth?" _if he had the strength he would have jumped in surprise, Kadaj was speaking to him mentally, his blood boiled only he could do that to others, this was an invasion of the one place he had kept hidden for so many years, his soul….Kadaj was going to shattered the cool mask he had worn for so many years, shatter it and reveal his real self.

"_No!"_

Kadaj leapt backwards and his mind left Sephiroth's, _good, he should stay away._ His mind struggled against the waves of pain and failed; he snarled and gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out.

It was going to be a long night

* * *

"Why won't he wake up?"

Vincent sighed; he'd hoped that Kadaj wouldn't ask that question, he looked up from the fire to see Kadaj kneeling by Sephiroth, trying to get him to swallow the soup that Vincent made. Vincent walked over and lifted Sephiroth's head to encourage him to drink the soup, his natural instinct took over and he swallowed but still remained in his death like sleep. Vincent placed his head back on the ground and stared at the still face, the same elfish features and long silver hair, but he somehow seemed to be too still,

"Something's not right" Vincent muttered, he frowned down at Sephiroth; his stillness was starting to unnerve him. He should at least be moving slightly, he had a high fever for Gaia's sake, but he didn't even open his eyes. Kadaj sat by him biting his lip, he had bandaged the cut on his leg; Sephiroth was still dangerous after all.

"Where do you think Yazoo and Loz are?" Vincent asked, trying to kept the boy's mind off his brother

"I don't know they should be here by now" he glanced towards the entrance of the cave

"Hmm" he glanced back at Sephiroth frowning then he jerked slightly with a short gasp.

"What's wrong Vincent?"

"Nothing" he turned away and forced himself to stay still, _dam! Why is this happening now?_

_Why Vincent, don't you miss me when I'm gone?_

"No now go away, this can't happen now_" _he whispered

_Soon Vincent soon, you don't have the strength to hold me off forever_

The voice faded and Vincent allowed himself a shaky breath, he felt a hand touch his shoulder

"Vincent?" kadaj was looking down at him worriedly

"I'm fine" he muttered and strode outside into the forest, kadaj sat back down, Vincent usually went off on walks, so he wasn't concerned, but what the hell had just happened to him?

Vincent walked quickly, not bothering to cover his tracks, he jerked again and a strangled snarl tore from his lips

_Come now Vincent, have you told the boy you've given him your strength?_

"He doesn't need to know" he snarled, not bothering to server the contact between them

_He will when you eventually give in to me, think of what could happen_

"I'll take him to Cloud and Tifa"

_What about sephiroth? They'll be glad to see him won't they**?**_

"Shut up" he tried to put up a mental barrier and failed,

_See? You gave the boy too much_

"He needs it more than me" a whine passed his lips and he clutched his stomach, groaning like a wounded animal, Chaos laughed darkly

You really think that?

"Yes"

_You're more stupid than I thought_

Another pain stronger than the last flared through his chest right through his heart, he fell to his knees

_You see now Vincent, you can't fight me_ Chaos muttered then his voice took on a more plaintive tone _can't you at least let me have some control sometimes?_

Vincent shuddered, "just get back into the dam corner of my head where I can forget about you!" a twist of pain struck his gut and he slumped down

_One day Vincent, one day and you're mine_, Chaos snarled and his voice faded away, Vincent realised he'd been holding his breath and let out a few shaky breaths

One day was all he had, he had to get those two to Cloud and fast

poor Vincent, him and Chaos like each other really, better stop now they're both giving me a dirty looks

what's going to happen?

just wait and see ;)

please review, i like hearing what people think


	4. Chapter 4

Alive again

chapter 4 Nii-san

A/N:sorry people who waited, the evil beast called Writer's Block reared it's ugly head and it took me a while to kill it, ( i had to borrow Masamune, Sephiroth wasn't happy) anyways please enjoy

**disclaimer: once again i do not own Final fantasy**

Kadaj watched Sephiroth sleep, his face seemed so peaceful and he wondered if he looked the same when asleep. Sephiroth's breathing was fast and shallow and rattled slightly in his chest, Kadaj spotted something trickling out of Sephiroth's mouth and froze in fear, it was blood.

"Sephiroth" he whispered and brushed the silver hair out of his face "Sephiroth can you hear me?"

There was no response and Kadaj carefully wiped the blood off his lips, what was happening to him? He wouldn't wake up and now this….. He felt a sob rising in his throat and stifled it as best he could; a few tears ran down his cheeks.

"Kadaj….." Sephiroth had opened his eyes and was staring up at him, the pain was apparent in his eyes. Kadaj shuffled closer and began stroking his brother's hair

"Yeah?" Sephiroth shifted and winced, Kadaj leant forwards and touched his forehead, he was still burning up so it could just be his fever talking. But it could also be genuine.

"Please…I'm scared" he coughed and more blood dripped down his chin, Kadaj felt more tears running down his face as he lifted his brother as best he could and cradled him to his chest, Sephiroth weakly touched his mouth then stared at the blood on his fingers "am I dying?" he asked

"No! Of course not! You can't die! You can't leave me again!" kadaj buried his face in his brother's hair and cried freely as Sephiroth groaned and coughed harder than ever, Kadaj felt something spatter his face but didn't move away, he looked into his brother's eyes and kidded himself that he could see straight into his soul. But all he saw was the green glow flickering dimly and the strange calm that Sephiroth was known for slip away. He clutched at Kadaj desperately and whimpered, "It hurts…..make it stop"

"I can't…." Kadaj swallowed and set his brother back down on the stone floor, he glanced at the mouth of the cave and frowned, should he go find Vincent or was he just over reacting? As if in answer Vincent dragged himself back into the cave, he was in a terrible state; his hair hung limply round his face as blood trailed down his cheek, his cloak and clothes were torn and streaked with dirt and snow. His pale complexion had gotten even paler almost grey. He shivered uncontrollably and his eyes had a hollow far away look at them.

"We have to go" he murmured

"We can't! Sephiroth's too sick; he's coughing up blood Vincent!"

"We _have_ to go" Vincent's voice suddenly was cold and unfeeling

"Please….we can't move him" Kadaj pleaded, his vision blurred as more tears filled his eyes, he brushed them away angrily. Vincent stared down at him then shook himself slightly

"I'm sorry" he said, his eyes softening slightly "but we really have to go"

"Where to?"

"7th Heaven" he paused and in answer to Kadaj's questioning look said "Cloud and Tifa's place"

"Nii-san's home?" Kadaj's eyes were shining; Vincent gave him a small smile

"Yes…but I can't carry Sephiroth" Kadaj looked closely at Vincent, his shoulders were slumped in defeat

"How can we get him there then?"

Vincent had obliviously thought this out for he answered almost immediately "we'll make a stretcher"

Kadaj nodded and picked up Masamune "I'll cut some branches down" Vincent opened his mouth and Kadaj shot him a steely glare "I'll do it Vincent"

"Fine"

He knew it was better not to argue with a teenager carrying a huge sword

* * *

"Hey Cloud come and look at this" Marlene was poking him repeatedly in the side, knowing that she would stop until he followed her he set down his paper and walked over to the window. Denzel was already crouched there, his nose pressed against the frosted glass

"What's going on then" Cloud asked kneeling down and peering out into the deserted streets. Denzel fidgeted and glanced at Marlene

"You tell him"

"No you" Marlene folded her arms, a gesture she had copied from Tifa, Cloud bit his lip fighting back a laugh

"No you, you spotted him" Denzel turned back to the window, Cloud looked at Marlene and raised an eyebrow

"Well, what's going on?"

"I think I saw Vincent"

"Really" Cloud sat back thinking hard, Vincent mostly kept to himself if he ever came into town it was either, he was hurt or very rarely when he wanted company. Cloud guessed it was probably the former of the two. He stood up and pulled on his coat "tell Tifa I'm going out"

"Why?" Marlene caught his coat and held him back, Cloud gently removed her hand

"I'm going to find Vincent" he opened the door and went out, his eyes scanning each alley way and corner. It didn't help that Vincent was a master of stealth when ever he cared to be, which was all the bloody time. Cloud swore and rubbed his arms, snow was falling heavily now and how the hell was he supposed to find Vincent in this weather?

"Nii-san?" Cloud froze, the last time he had heard that voice the world had almost ended. He turned slowly and saw the youngest Remnant huddled in a corner, green cat like eyes shinning in the dark. Cloud pulled out his broadsword and pointed at threateningly at Kadaj's chest, waiting for him to attack.

"Nii-san….please" Kadaj reached out for him, his hand shaking "it's Vincent, he changed" his voice broke and he buried his head in his hands, Cloud lowered his sword, what had happened to the old Kadaj? The one who had tried to kill him despite their connection through Jenova, a low moan made him walk closer and he saw someone curled up next to Kadaj, his head resting on his lap.

_Sephiroth_

But something was wrong, gone was the proud General Cloud had known and gone was the insane cold and cruel one winged angel. He had been reduced to this shivering wreak and instead of feeling satisfaction, Cloud felt sick to his stomach, this wasn't right.

"What's wrong with him?" he whispered and crouched down next to Kadaj.

"Mako poisoning" Cloud blinked with surprise and looked down at Sephiroth, he had opened his eyes and was smirking at him "Good to see you… Cloud"

Cloud shivered then grimaced as he saw the huge black wing wrapping around Sephiroth's back in a vain attempt to keep him warm, Sephiroth looked at Cloud's expression and raised an eyebrow "what? My wing disturbs you?"

"Kinda of…it's more that Gaia's greatest enemy is defenceless at my feet" Kadaj bristled angrily and Sephiroth smiled

"So what are you going to do about it Cloud?"

"The best thing would be for me to kill you and have gone with it"

"Don't bother, I'll be back…..she always drags me back" Cloud was surprised at the amount of bitterness in his voice, didn't he want to come back?

"Does that mean, you not connected to Jenova anymore?"

Sephiroth twisted slightly and moaned "no I don't think so" he looked up with a desperate expression "Please, you've had this before; you know what it's like"

Cloud's expression softened slightly as he stared down at the weakened Ex General "I'll take you back to 7th Heaven, you'll both be safe there….although you will be questioned as to why you're both back"

"Fair enough" Sephiroth's eyes closed and Cloud felt as if weight had been lifted from his stomach. Kadaj grabbed his arm and pulled him closer

"Tell me how to get there, you have to find Vincent, he changed into something awful"

Cloud gave him the directions and stood up; he was going to find Vincent even if it took him all night.

well that took me a while to write

couldn't think of better chapter title sorry :(

please review, i love reading what you people think :D


	5. Chapter 5

Alive again

Chapter 5,

A/N: yeah sorry couldn't think of a chapter name, i can't sum it all up. oh wells enjoy anyway

disclaimer: as we all know, i do not own

Vincent struggled with Chaos as he ran through the empty alleyways, the demon was winning and he knew it, for Chaos was howling with a savage delight. Vincent winced at the sound and collapsed against a wall, crying out in agony as the demon slowly and painfully took control

_See Vincent, we could have done this the easy way and have it not hurt you, but you had to stubborn and deny me._

Vincent tried to stand and fell back against the wall; _at least I got away from Kadaj and Sephiroth_ he thought and moaned as fangs pushed their way out of his mouth, he spat to get rid off the blood and mentally cursed Chaos, the only response he got was a chuckle.

"Vincent!" Vincent's head snapped up, was Chaos managing to create a vision of someone to confuse him? He wouldn't put it past him, in the days when he had no one Chaos was the only person he could talk to and through he had revealed much about himself, he had kept the depths of his power very secret.

"Vincent is that you?" it sounded like Cloud though it was probably an illusion, he pressed himself against the wall and snarled angrily at the approaching figure, what ever it was, it was a threat and the only way to deal with threats was to show them that you were stronger and braver. He shook his head that was Chaos's thoughts not his, but the instinct was basically the same; make you appear more threatening and the threat less likely to attack.

"Vincent? Please is that you?" Cloud came into focus, Vincent bit his lip to stop a snarl and was amused to see he still used a broadsword; Cloud crouched down near him "Vincent, what's wrong?"

"C-Chaos" he stammered and whined revealing his fangs, Cloud backed away as he convulsed and out a groan, two leathery bat like wings forced their way out of his back as his skin turned grey. Vincent screamed as he felt his mind being forcefully shoved back allowing the demon to take full control.

Cloud gasped as Chaos stood and roared at the sky in triumph, then promptly collapsed, he growled in annoyance and flailed his wings wildly almost knocking Cloud over

"What the hell? This can't be happening; I'm a flipping WEAPON for Gaia's sake!" he growled, he swore and forced himself back upright, then collapsed again, Chaos howled in frustration and lashed out at the wall, leaving claw marks three inches deep. Cloud swallowed and advanced slowly, Chaos sensed his movement and whirled around hissing. Cloud leapt back with a yelp as claws swung in his direction.

"Stay back, or I will kill you" Chaos snarled, Cloud held up his hand and backed away slowly, Chaos rolled his eyes and went on trying to get up "stupid mortal" he spat and held onto the wall for support "stupid Vincent, it's his fault for not letting me out sooner" he spread out his wings and flapped them experimentally "bet I can still fly though" he paused and noticed Cloud still standing there, mouth agape "why are you still here human?"

"You need to come with me"

Chaos scoffed and leaned against the wall, folding his arms, it looked strange to see such a human gesture on a demon's body, "why? Anyway you can't take me anywhere; I'd rip you to shreds"

"True, but I promised I'd bring Vincent back and if I can't find him, then you're the next best thing"

Chaos glared "I'm not going anywhere"

"I think you are seeing as you can't even walk"

The demon snarled as Cloud got closer and lashed out at him, Cloud ducked and leapt onto Chaos's back, pinning him down. Chaos writhed and hissed as Cloud applied his full weight to his back, his most sensitive area apart from his wings, he gathered up his power getting ready to shoot it at Cloud. Who in a desperate effort not to get thrown off he began stroking the skin between the two wings, Chaos flinched in surprise then to his annoyance his body relaxed and his power died away. His wings fell from their raised positions and lay limply on the floor.

"Stop that!" he growled, but to his disgust he let out a satisfied purr of contentment, Cloud smiled and started to stroke his wings instead, Chaos shivered and sank down to the floor purring. "Dam" he muttered "Dam it to hell"

_Having fun Chaos?_

"Shut the hell up Vincent" he mumbled and tried again to thrown Cloud off him, his body failed to respond. He glared up Cloud "where the hell did you learn to do that?"

"It's a good way to deal with an over excited puppy" Cloud smiled at the memory of the dark haired SOLIDER "and it helps when dealing with Generals"

Chaos rolled his eyes "no wonder you're so good, but were you confident that it would work on me?"

Cloud paused then carried on stroking his wings "no really, but I've never done that to a demon before. But it does also work on Vincent so I had a pretty good idea"

"You did this to Vincent? How did you come out alive? Vincent hardly lets anyone near him"

"He'd just woken up after a couple of months in his coffin and he was really stiff, so I offered to do this and it really worked. He was purring like there was no tomorrow"

Chaos smirked, that was something to remind Vincent of later.

"Kinda of like you are now" Cloud said and Chaos glared, he hadn't noticed he was still purring

_Something to remind you of later Chaos_

"Shut up Valentine" he growled under his breath, and sighed "get off, I promise I won't attack you" god he would never live this down.

"If you're sure" Cloud got down from his back and stood in front of him "so are you coming?"

Chaos stretched and nodded "yes I'll come with you" he finally managed to stand and felt Vincent poking his sub consciousness

_What about Yazoo and Loz, you have to find them._

"Don't have too" he muttered smugly "I saw them following us, then you were preoccupied" he smiled as Vincent mentally glared at him. Cloud cleared his throat

"You coming?"

"Yes" he muttered and followed Cloud back towards 7th Heaven.

* * *

"Don't cry Yazoo" Yazoo wiped away the tears angrily and stared around shivering, he was completely lost though he didn't care to admit it. He faced Loz and decided to let out his frustration on him

"You said they came this way!"

Loz clenched his fists "you're surprised to have better eyesight! Didn't you switch to Sephiroth's sight?"

Yazoo wrapped his arms around him and glared at Loz "it's hard for him to see, his vision's gone all blurry and green"

"Green?" Loz was looking at him like he was mad; Yazoo rolled his eyes and turned away

"Like he was looking at the world through a green veil" he thought for a minute then turned around "what things are green?"

"Grass, pieces of glass sometimes, ponds"

"No I mean chemicals"

"Mako's green isn't it?"

"That's it!" Yazoo's expression didn't change but Loz knew inside he was probably jumping up and down. "He's got too much Mako"

"Oh….isn't that bad?"

"Yes, we've got to find him!" Yazoo grabbed his arm and dragged him down an alley, after half an hour of searching Loz slumped down in a corner and refused to go on.

"Yazoo we've been walking for two days straight, we need the break"

"But if we fall asleep we might not wake up again!" Yazoo moaned wearily and cast a glance at Loz; he was curled up in the snow his eyes firmly shut.

"Loz!" no response, Yazoo shook his shoulder "LOZ!"

Still no response, Yazoo kicked his shoulder "I am _not_ carrying you"

"Just give it up Yazoo; we're not going to find them tonight" he patted the snow beside him "if we stay together, we won't die of hypothermia"

"We might get close" Yazoo muttered but allowed his weary body to slump beside Loz's, Loz wrapped his arm around him to kept his older brother warm

"We'll be fine Yazoo, we can find them tomorrow"

"If we survive that long"

Loz rolled his eyes "Always the downer aren't you?"

"Always the sensible one actually"

"Oh shut up and go to sleep"

Yazoo closed his eyes "with pleasure" he muttered

* * *

"Vincent? Vincent? Are you awake?"

Vincent groaned and opened his eyes, the light hurt so he quickly closed them again, but not before he saw Tifa's friendly face staring worriedly down at him.

"How long was I out?" he asked rubbing his head, it was like he had a huge hangover, he felt a cool hand on his forehead.

"Two days, we were starting to get worried about you" the hand was removed "your fever's gone anyway, when Chaos walked in he was a wreak, it took all of us to drag him upstairs.

"Must be because I haven't transformed for a while, I've been suppressing them a lot lately" Vincent opened his eyes again slowly and the room came into focus, he wasn't in his basement room where he normally stayed when ever he visited, this room was light and airy and strangely peaceful.

Tifa clicked her tongue disapprovingly "you know you shouldn't do that, it only makes it worse when you eventually do have to transform" she looked at his expression and softened slightly "wondering about the room huh, sorry you're not in the basement but it was easier for us to watch you, your fever got really high at one point"

"That's fine" he sat up and felt slightly lightheaded, Tifa slipped her arm around his shoulders and eased him back down

"Lie back, I bet Chaos can feel it too so take it easy"

"Why? It's his fault"

"He said the same thing about you" she sat back and tutted "don't you two ever get along?"

"Not when he causes me to scream in agony" he muttered darkly, he was free to say what he wanted as Chaos was asleep. Tifa rolled her eyes

"Fine forget I said it"

Vincent blinked in surprise, Tifa wasn't normally impatient, she glanced at him and sighed

"Sorry, it's just…..well all of this…Sephiroth and Kadaj coming back, it's a lot to take in"

"I know, have you questioned them yet?"

"No" Tifa looked away "Sephiroth is too ill and Kadaj keeps refusing, he says that he won't talk until we find Yazoo and Loz"

"Chaos said they were following us, they might have got lost" Vincent sat up quickly and Tifa pushed him back down

"Take it easy, since when did you get all concerned about the enemy"

Vincent grimaced at her chose of words; he no longer considered Kadaj and Sephiroth as enemies since he found both of them near death and defenceless. His first thought when he saw Sephiroth was to kill him, but even he had morals tucked away somewhere.

"Kadaj has changed Tifa, he wasn't the same as he was and I can vouch for that."

Tifa raised an eyebrow "really? You should have heard the threats when I went near Sephiroth"

"See, that was just in defence" Tifa stared at him amazed

"If you're sure" she stood up and left the room. Vincent stared at the ceiling feeling slightly confused, why was he defending them? After all what had they done for him? They had caused widespread panic and horror across the planet, but seeing them like that, weak and helpless. Did he feel affection for them?

"I see you're awake Valentine"

Vincent looked up in surprise, Sephiroth walked into the room and leaned against the wall smirking at his shocked expression. "What? Were you expecting Kadaj?"

"Yes, what have you done to him?" Vincent snarled and struggled to sit up, it was hard to appear threatening when you are lying on a bed. Sephiroth seemed to be genuinely surprised

"Nothing, why should I? I have nothing to gain from his death"

"Revenge maybe, vanity, or boredom" Sephiroth rolled his eyes and pushed him back down

"You really think I would kill someone because I was bored?"

"You've done it before" Vincent struggled to push Sephiroth's hand off his chest, Sephiroth smirked and released him. Vincent sat up and glared at him

"How come you're awake anyway? You were coughing up blood last time I saw you"

Sephiroth grimaced and a shadow passed over his face, he clenched his jaw as his eyes closed "I am still" he paused then spat out the words as though he was disgusted by them "weakened by the Mako" he opened his eyes and glanced at Vincent, there was pain in his eyes along with a wild desperation for reassurance though he did his best to hide it.

"Sephiroth" Vincent felt the need to comfort him, he had never seen him so open before, he always kept his face carefully expressionless accept when he was smirking or bored. Sephiroth glanced away quickly and when he looked back his face was calm again.

"You should sleep" he said quietly and left the room as silently as ever, Vincent frowned and stared up at the ceiling, why did Sephiroth show his emotions, did he finally trust Vincent now?

* * *

Sephiroth managed to keep up his act until he was halfway down the corridor then he leaned heavily on the wall breathing hard, his stomach was doing several back flips. He inwardly cursed himself, _idiot! Just because you wanted to appear as cold and calm as you used to doesn't mean you suppress the effects of Mako you twat!_

"Sephiroth?" Kadaj was leaning against the wall "are you okay?"

Sephiroth opened his mouth to say something cutting but snapped it shut as he gagged, Kadaj moved to his side and put his hand on his back

"Let it happen, it will only be worse if you hold it off"

"Since when did you learn about this?" Sephiroth muttered thickly

"Vincent taught me lots of things while you were unconscious" he felt Sephiroth tense slightly and sighed "sorry, but why is that such a touchy subject for you? Everyone gets ill sometimes Sephiroth, just face it"

Sephiroth retched and clamped his hand to his mouth, Kadaj rolled his eyes and sighed _stupid brother and his ego_. He grabbed Sephiroth and dragged him to the bathroom

"Throw up all you dam want" he snarled "and don't you dare start about it being beneath you, or I'll make you sick myself!" he watched as his brother finally gave in and retched violently almost missing the toilet, Kadaj patted his back making soothing noises. Sephiroth coughed up everything he had in him and sat back groaning, Kadaj whistled and handed him a cloth.

"Jesus Sephiroth, I think you threw up the whole dam Lifestream" he peered in toilet bowl and recoiled "Whoa! Should it be glowing green?"

"Kadaj…shut up!" Sephiroth growled and hung his head, dry heaving, Kadaj leant forward but Sephiroth waved him away "I'm fine" he snarled and wiped his face with the cloth, annoyed that he had to depend on his little brother. Kadaj sat back with an amused smirk on his face.

"The great Sephiroth finally has to accept help from a lowly mortal" he purred and titled his head, his smirk was more self satisfied than normal.

"Kadaj, I swear if you say one more word I'll"

"You'll do what? Vomit Mako on me?" Kadaj stood up and saluted "see ya later o Lord and Master of Gaia" he strolled out of the room

Sephiroth groaned and banged his head against the wall, why were brothers such a pain? God knows how he was going to survive when Yazoo and Loz finally got here.

Kadaj is finally back to his annoying self! :D

please review, i spend most of my time on fanfiction now anyway

untill next time dear readers


	6. Chapter 6

Alive again

chapter 6 some truth revealed

**disclaime**r:it's official i do not own

Cloud sighed as the sounds of retching drifted down into the bar, he was sure this hadn't happened to him, Vincent seemed to be rather calm about the whole thing so Cloud copied his example. But today for some reason it was really starting to annoy him, they had been here three days and they had learned nothing from them at all, he ground his teeth and glared moodily up at the ceiling

"For god's sake he's the almighty Sephiroth" he growled to nobody in particular "surely he would have recovered by now?"

"Not really" Vincent walked over and sat down at the bar, staring thoughtfully into his drink, Cloud raised an eyebrow

"That was meant to be a rhetorical question Vincent. Anyway why not? Surely he'd be used to Mako considering what Hojo did to him"

Vincent winced slightly and set down his glass "surely you would be used to it, considering that you were experimented on?"

Cloud shrugged "okay you got me there, but it effected him more than me, explain that"

Vincent met his glaze and lowered his voice so Marlene and Denzel wouldn't hear "Kadaj said that while he was in the Lifestream 'the Mother' as he called her protected him from overexposure to Mako"

"You mean Aerith protected him?" Cloud looked amazed for a moment when his expression cleared, "I think she did talk to him before he joined with the Lifestream"

Vincent nodded "that was more or less what he told me, but she didn't protect Sephiroth"

"Why not?"

"Maybe it was the will of the Goddess, I can't be sure, maybe she wanted him to suffer for his crimes" he tapped the counter with his claws and seemed to be lost in thought again.

Cloud knew he wouldn't get anymore out of him for a while and went upstairs to check on the two prisoners, he found Sephiroth asleep in the bathroom, curled up into a protective ball. Cloud stared at him, when sleeping he seemed different, much younger and more innocent somehow, as if he felt Cloud's glaze on him. Sephiroth stirred and opened his eyes; the glow in them was very faint now and flickered like a candle in the breeze.

"What do you want Strife?" he growled, his voice was still menacing ever after he had spend most of the day throwing up.

"My guilty conscience made me check on you"

Sephiroth laughed, it was a horrible rasping sound "What guilt? You saved the planet from Jenova, you should be swimming in the praise" Cloud was surprised at the bitterness in his voice, he had been the most famous SOLIDER of all time after all, or maybe he didn't like the praise and attention.

"Guilt for killing you" Cloud said quietly, his voice was very low but Sephiroth still heard him, his expression cleared slightly and he no longer looked spiteful

"You felt guilt for killing me?" Cloud looked away; Sephiroth's glaze was too piercing

"If you're well enough, we'll question you and Kadaj soon" he stood up and left without another word. Sephiroth glazed after him, his expression is usual was carefully controlled.

* * *

_Vincent_

Go away Chaos; I am not in the mood

_I'm worried about Loz and Yazoo_

Vincent paused and leant back in his chair, thinking hard, Chaos didn't normally worry about humans.

Why are you worried about them? I didn't think they were worth your time?

In his mind, Chaos shifted uncomfortably, _you feel concern for them don't you?_

Yes, I suppose I do but get back to the question

_Well, it's just…_ Chaos sighed then went on _it's hard to explain, your emotions are so confusing sometimes. Anyway, you feel an amount of affection for both Kadaj and Sephiroth, they remind you of a family you could have had._

Vincent winced slightly

Yes I do, but this still hasn't answered

_I'm getting there, Jeez Vincent!_

Well do it faster or do you want me to cut off your non excitant

_Because they have the same sort of biochemical make up as you due to the experiments they both went through. That makes them sort of the same as you and if you over look some genes and things like that, you are actually related, causing the instinctive protective bond. This also makes them kin to me as well, which is why I'm concerned… happy now? _

Vincent felt slightly stunned, Chaos groaned

_Don't make me repeat that again Valentine, it took me most of the last two days to work that speech out._

Wait, you mean….they're my family?

_Hypothetically speaking, yes they are_

Vincent stood up his thoughts far away as he processed the information, "Sephiroth" he moaned "he could have been mine…..he should have been my son Chaos"

Chaos softened slightly, his voice became low and comforting_ he still can be, though it might be a bit awkward with the questioning thing._

Vincent frowned

But Kadaj won't talk without Yazoo and Loz

Chaos coughed, _Cloud was talking to me while you were 'out' he said that if they didn't cooperate, he's calling Shinra._

But they'll torture them.

_Best way to get information, and if Tseng is the one doing the questioning, expect no mercy from him. After all Kadaj didn't show him any did he?_

Vincent grimaced, remembering the many injuries had been inflicted on Tseng and Elena by Kadaj and his brothers.

What if it's Reno and Rude?

Chaos hesitated before answering, _I can't say…..Reno I think would be rather lax about it, and it depends on whether he considers it to be part of his duty to Shinra and the Turks, Rude will just let Reno do most of it, as you know he's not much of a talker._

What about Rufus?

Chaos sniggered _do you really think he'd move his big corporative ass for a little interrogation?_

He might, as it's some what personal for him.

_Rufus I think would be fairly calm, and his whole 'control them by fear' thing wouldn't work on Kadaj and Sephiroth so if he does come tell him not to try it. Apart from that I think he would treat them fairly, you said he had changed last time you saw him._

He has.

_Well that might work to Kadaj's advantage; after all, he is slightly hypnotic isn't he?_

Yes

_A skill passed on from Sephiroth I assume_

I think so

Vincent walked towards the door, just before he went out a small hand grabbed his cloak, it was Marlene

"Where are you going Vincent? Are you leaving?"

_Ah…..she's so sweet_ Chaos purred, Vincent smirked slightly and bent down to look Marlene in the eye

"No I'm not leaving, I'm just going out to try and find Kadaj's brothers"

"You mean Loz and Yazoo" she looked thoughtfully at him then her face brightened "I like Yazoo, he looked nice"

_Tell her she can brush Sephiroth's hair when he's better. _Chaos sniggered and started laughing. Vincent sighed and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, as he glanced back he saw Marlene's stern expression. _Opps _he thought and smiled at her

"Sorry, trouble with Chaos"

"What's he saying?"

Vincent smirked mentally at Chaos "he said that you were sweet" Marlene giggled and smiled back at him

"Tell him he has pretty eyes"

_WHAT! MY EYES AREN'T PRETTY, I'M A FLIPPING DEMON, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY! _Vincent flinched from the force of his shouts then he had a thought and his smile grew wider

"He also said you should ask Sephiroth if you could brush his hair, he said to tell Sephiroth that he told you to"

Marlene frowned considering the idea, then her face brightened "okay I will, when he gets better"

Vincent ruffled her hair "tell Cloud I won't be too long"

"Okay Vincent" she skipped off, muttering something about telling Denzel, Vincent smirked then yelped as pain flared in his cheek like he'd been slapped

"What the hell was that for?"

_For saying to tell Sephiroth I said it, I won't be around when he comes for us._

"Comes for you, you mean" Vincent growled and went out slamming the door behind him.

_Really Vincent that was unnecessary_

"Oh shut up Chaos!"

kinda short this time isn't it

oh well i'll upload again soon

see ya later

:D


	7. Chapter 7

Alive again

Chapter 7 interrogation 

A/N: thanks to all the people who reviewed, you really made my day

**Disclaimer: i don't own**

A bright light suddenly snapped into existence, Kadaj blinked startled, he was in the basement and was tied to a chair, he pulled at the ropes and snarled in frustration as they refused to break.

"Feels weird to be bound to a chair doesn't it?" Kadaj glanced across the room; Rufus was standing in a far corner watching him carefully, Kadaj glared at him then smirked

"You know all about that _Sir_" Rufus's glaze stayed as cold as ever as he stared at the bound remnant

"You should be glad I didn't bring Tseng and Elena with me, they'd be glad to do this I'm sure"

"I'm sure they would, though what we did was worse"

"How can you be sure? You don't know what they had planned; I refused to let them come"

Kadaj's smirk widened as he glazed calmly at Rufus "why's that? I'm sure whatever they planned you agreed that I deserved it"

"I refused, because we need you to be alive afterwards"

Kadaj leaned back; totally at ease "I suppose you do"

"Can't we just get on with the questioning yo?" Reno stepped out of the darkness with Rude at his side; he held his electro-mag rod against his shoulder as he glanced at Kadaj "I didn't expect you two to start having a friendly conversation"

Rufus turned and glared at him "we will start in a minute Reno" _if his voice got_ _any colder _kadaj thought, _his tongue would have frozen._

Reno saluted casually and leaned against the wall tapping the electro-mag rod against his shoulder, Rude raised his eyebrows and backed away slightly

"Er Reno, I wouldn't do that"

"Why not? It's not going to go off on me"

_Famous last words_ Kadaj thought and just as he expected the taser on the end of the night stick went off and Reno fell to the floor with a yell

"Shiva's tits!"

Kadaj sniggered, Reno scrambled upright his red hair flying around his face, he glared at the teenager and lunged for him, Rude caught him and held him back, he struggled uselessly in Rude's arms

"He laughed at me yo! No one laughs at a Turk, especially not if that Turk is me!"

Rufus rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed "Reno cut it out, we have a job to do"

"Still sore from when I kicked your ass Reno?" Kadaj asked sweetly, Reno yelled something unintelligible and stared bitterly at Rufus

"Go on and torture him then!"

"We are not here to torture; we are here to question"

"Fuck that yo! He has insulted the whole of Shinra and that includes you Rufus, or do you like what he did to Tseng and Elena?" Reno's eyes were burning with rage; he turned his head and spat in Kadaj's direction. "He insulted the Turks and no one does that when I'm around!"

Kadaj was surprised at his loyalty; Reno didn't seem the kind of person to be attached to his job. He tilted his head and smirked at Reno allowing his form to flicker, taking the shape of Sephiroth briefly

"Going to torture me are you Reno?" Kadaj had always preferred Sephiroth's voice to his own; Sephiroth's voice had some much more strength and control in it.

Reno leapt backwards, something almost impossible considering he was still trapped by Rude's arms; they both fell against the wall but managed to stay upright.

"Holy hell" Reno muttered as he untangled himself from Rude's arms, he raised his mag rod threateningly "what the hell are you doing?"

"I am mealy warning you…. You lay a finger on him and my wrath will be great" Kadaj shivered as he felt a ghost of Sephiroth's one black wing burst from his back, Reno and Rude who had never seen it before gasped, Rufus's face remained impassive, he had seen Kadaj's trick before.

"Cut that out Kadaj, we have things to do"

Kadaj shrugged "fair enough" Sephiroth's form melted away and Reno saw him properly again, he relaxed but his glaze was still full of loathing

"That's a neat trick yo"

A sharp knock sounded at the door, Rude stepped forward and opened it, Vincent was standing there, his hair and clothes were dripping with snow and he was shaking, but there was an air of darkness around him and Reno and Rude both stepped back. Rufus stayed where he was and calmly took in Vincent's appearance as though he were appraising him. Kadaj stained against his ropes, _no one should look at Vincent that way _he thought.

"What are you doing here Rufus?" Vincent's voice was as cold as the snow that covered him.

"We were" he shot Reno nasty look before continuing "going to start the questioning now, but we were held up"

"Really, well then seeing as you haven't started you would mind if I took him for a while"

Reno opened his mouth to protest and Vincent cut in smoothly "after all….. the need for the information can be prolonged for a few days can't it?"

Rufus met his glaze and nodded "agreed, though we will be back in a couple days" he walked out of the room, Rude followed after, nodding quickly to Vincent before disappearing out the door, Reno gave Kadaj one last look of loathing before following the other out into the bar. Vincent quickly untied Kadaj then glanced at the door

"Did they do anything to you?"

"No, we didn't even get up to the questioning part; mostly all that happened was Reno yelling at me"

"You insulted him?"

"Insulted Shinra apparently and why not? I hate them all, they kept mother away from us" he had the expression of a typical sulky teenager. Vincent grabbed his arm and dug his claws in

"You're not going to look for her are you?"

Kadaj squirmed in his grasp "no, the Mother said that she was banished forever from the planet"

"Good" Vincent relaxed and he let go of Kadaj's arm "sorry, but if you tried to find Jenova again, I'd have to kill you"

Kadaj was shocked but he didn't comment on it, he changed the subject instead "why did you come in and stop them?"

"Because I found you're brothers, you're lucky they're alive, they were sleeping in the snow when I found them and who knows how long they'd been there for."

"Are they alright?"

"Yes, they'll probably have a cold of some kind but nothing serious, they stayed together and their combined body temperature kept them warm enough to stay alive"

"Really? That's smart of them; I bet it wasn't Loz's idea"

Vincent smiled in spite of himself "it was"

Kadaj looked stunned "whoa" he muttered and grinned sheepishly at Vincent "perhaps I shouldn't be so judgemental huh"

Vincent ruffled his hair "maybe not, let's go see how they're doing"

Kadaj smiled "okay, I'll race ya!" he dashed up the stairs, Vincent watched him with a warm smile

_What the hell was that?_

What? You said he was my family

_And he is sort of, but that was the most disturbing display of mushy sweetness I've ever seen!_

Shut up Chaos

_Where is the brooding cold hearted Vincent I used to know_

Chaos, are you jealous?

Chaos remained quiet and Vincent chuckled darkly,

Is the big scary demon finally calming down?

_If I am it's none of your concern Valentine! _

Vincent sighed and ran his hand through his hair

Listen Chaos, can we talk about this later?

_Fine! if you'll actually listen to me for once_

He felt Chaos put up a mental barrier and sighed, why of all times was he starting to act like a human. Kadaj appeared at the top of the stairs

"You coming Vincent?"

Vincent allowed himself to relax and smiled up at Kadaj "yes, I'll be right up"

love you all people who reviewed

kept reading, i've got no idea how long this will go on for

see ya later


	8. Chapter 8

Alive again

chapter 8 condition deteriorate

A/n: thank you to all the people who've read this, you can all get a hug from Vincent

**disclaimer:** i do not own final fantasy or the song.

Cloud stood inside Aerith's church and played with the water in the pool, he needed to think for a while. "Aerith….what am I going to do?" he whispered and crouched down beside the pool. The light from the full moon danced across the surface of the water, turning it into liquid silver. A quiet chuckle sounded behind him

"So you still come here Cloud, I thought you had put such memories behind you"

Cloud bared his teeth slightly and turned to glare furiously at Sephiroth "yes! I do still come here, got a problem with it?"

Sephiroth shook his head and his expression became wistful "to be like you Cloud, how does it feel?"

"Terrible sometimes, but sometimes it's good….why? Why do you want to know?"

"Tell me Cloud, why do you think I tried to destroy the planet" Sephiroth asked, turning away from Cloud and staring out at the ruins outside the church, Cloud frowned and stood up.

"Because Jenova influenced you, and because you hated Shinra and everyone else on the planet, you blamed them for not saving you"

Sephiroth smiled slightly though Cloud couldn't see it "is that right?"

"Yes…why? Is there a different reason" Cloud tilted his head and watched Sephiroth stiffen, his hands curled into fists.

"There is" he turned and his eyes were burning with fury " I was starting to break free from Jenova Cloud and when I saw what I had done to the planet, I realised that none of you would ever forgive me" his voice broke off and he glared at Cloud

"So you decided the best solution was to destroy the planet" Cloud said slowly,

Sephiroth's hand twitched towards Masamune, but he controlled the urge to pull out the blade. He needed Cloud to hear this.

"I wanted to die Cloud" he paused to take in Cloud's shocked expression "the madness you saw was the longing for death, but I knew Jenova would bring me back again….. The only way to destroy her was to destroy the planet. That way I could rest in peace and hopefully earn your forgiveness" his hand suddenly went to his chest and he fell to his knees coughing.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud ran to his side and put his hand on his back, trying to soothe him, he watched in horror as blood spattered the remaining flowers. Sephiroth moaned between the coughs and closed his eyes waiting for the fit to pass.

Cloud watched helplessly, there was nothing he could really do but watch and wait, Sephiroth coughed weakly, struggling for breath then he hissed in pain and collapsed into Cloud's arms, Cloud was reminded of when he held Kadaj as he lay dying. _Sephiroth isn't dying you nut! He only just got back._

He gazed in the green eyes and they no longer had the power to strike fear into his heart, it was like a younger Sephiroth was staring back at him, his eyes filled with pain and fear.

"Cloud" he gasped, Cloud tightened his grip slightly, cradling him against his chest

"Take it easy….relax I've got you"

Sephiroth coughed again weakly, he grabbed Cloud's collar and pulled him close "will you forgive me?" his eyes were burning with something, Cloud couldn't tell what it was, he placed his hand on Sephiroth's forehead, he was burning up again. He resisted the urge to struggle and nodded

"I forgive you Sephiroth, it wasn't your fault"

Sephiroth's hand dropped to his side as his eyes closed, Cloud shook him gently and when he didn't wake up, he lifted him and carried him outside and placed him on the back of Fenrir. "Well I guess you aren't as strong as I thought you were huh" he said and drove back to 7th Heaven

* * *

Tseng stood in Rufus's office, his face was set and he glared at his bosses' back "why won't you let me interrogate Sephiroth and Kadaj?"

Rufus turned and gazed coolly at him "you don't think I've seen those plans you and Elena made, you plan to injure them so badly that they won't recover" he shifted through his papers and held up a complicated diagram " we want information….not a blood bath" Tseng blinked surprised but he quickly recovered

"Sir those are not my"

"Don't lie to me Tseng; you think I don't recognize your style of writing" Rufus sighed and sat down behind his desk; he gestured for Tseng to do the same. Tseng sat down in the chair opposite still glaring furiously at Rufus.

"Sir….when it comes to Sephiroth and Kadaj at least I know what I'm dealing with, I spend a while with Kadaj if you recall"

"I do" Rufus tossed Tseng's card over, the blood stains were still spattered across it. "Listen to me Tseng; it's not that I don't want to make them pay for what they did because I do, but torture of that kind, it's inhumane"

"Who said Kadaj and Sephiroth are human" Tseng muttered, Rufus turned his head sharply. But he controlled his anger, he didn't want to have a shouting match with Tseng after all, he sighed and rubbed his temples

"We can't afford for them to die Tseng, their information is too valuable for that…and anyway" a small smile crossed his lips "we won't be able to interrogate them for the foreseeable future, Cloud called. Sephiroth's condition has rapidly deteriorated"

"How?"

Rufus laced his fingers together "sorry, I forgot to tell you, he became infected with Mako poisoning whilst in the Lifestream, it's seems that Jenova is no longer with him"

"So, he is no longer a threat?" Tseng asked, Rufus smiled darkly

"That remains to be seen"

A knock sounded at the door "hey boss, I need to talk to you"

Rufus rolled his eyes, "Reno, why do you always need me when I'm talking to someone else"

"It's important, Cloud called again"

Rufus sat up straighter suddenly alert "come in Reno" Reno strode in with Rude close at his side. Tseng stepped aside to let them come in, Reno gave him a knowing look before turning to Rufus.

"Sir, Cloud called to say Sephiroth is worse than ever, says it's the worst case of Mako poisoning he's seen" he glanced at Tseng "looks like you got your revenge yo"

"How bad is his condition?" Rufus was searching through his papers then he picked up a sheet and scanned it quickly. Reno shifted slightly and looked down

"He says he got a high fever, coughing up blood and he sometimes goes into a sort of coma then he won't response to anything."

Rude nodded "he keeps on vomiting Mako too"

"Yeah well, it's not fun mentioning that Rude" Reno snapped, he looked quite queasy from just thinking about it, Rufus sighed and wrote swiftly on a piece of paper which he stuck to the sheet he was holding, he held it out to Reno

"Here…take this to Cloud; I think he'll appreciate it"

Reno groaned "oh come on boss, we're not delivery boys, that's Strife's job"

"Do it" Rufus said, his tone offered no refusal, Reno groaned again but took the sheet and walked out the door with Rude, saluting over his shoulder. Rufus sighed and turned to Tseng

"You're not to go to them understand, you or Elena, I don't care if your pride is shattered, you go and you're fired"

Tseng nodded curtly "yes sir" he said through gritted teeth and strode out the room; Rufus sighed again and rubbed his forehead, god help Kadaj and Sephiroth if Tseng did manage to get to them.

* * *

Chaos stood in the doorway watching Sephiroth silently, his silver hair was stuck to his forehead and his breath came in short gasps. Chaos went over and pressed the damp cloth to his forehead in an attempt to cool him down, Sephiroth groaned and twisted away from the contact, Chaos held him still and sponged his forehead, growling with irritation as Sephiroth continued to struggle. "Stop that" he snarled "don't you want to recover?"

Sephiroth looked at him with glazed eyes, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth "I do…...I just hate being mothered, I'm not a child!" he growled.

Chaos laughed "to me you are a child Sephiroth, the oldest being alive on this planet is young compared to me"

Sephiroth twisted slightly and moaned softly "how old are you then?"

Chaos waved his hand expansively "I gave up counting years ago but it was past a hundred millennia"

Sephiroth closed his eyes "how….interesting" he muttered, Chaos brushed his hair out of his face and hummed absentmindedly, he was only out because Vincent hated to be around Sephiroth when he was ill, it made him felt dead inside. Chaos could relate to that, he didn't like it when Vincent was ill, though that was mostly because he felt it too , but it was also because despite their so called 'hatred' of each other he couldn't help liking the brooding Ex-Turk, he couldn't imagine living in anyone's head expect his. He felt warmth radiating from Vincent's mind and purred softly, he preferred it when Vincent was asleep and free from nightmares, his dreams were twisted and disturbing to watch and feel.

Chaos stroked Sephiroth's hair and started to sing softly

_Goodnight, sleep tight_

_No more tears_

_In the morning_

_I'll be here_

_And when we say goodnight_

_Dry your eyes_

_Because we say goodnight_

_And not goodbye_

_We say goodnight_

_And not goodbye_

Sephiroth stirred slightly and opened his eyes "what was that?"

Chaos shrugged "something Vincent heard long ago, he was thinking about it"

"you were purring" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow then turned his face away as a particularly vicious cough ripped out of him, Chaos grimaced as the scent of Mako tainted blood reached him.

"Yes, I am warm and content, it's just something I do" he said softly, Sephiroth laughed, the blood caught in his throat making a horrible rasping sound

"Content, I've barely experienced that, enlighten me, what is it like to be content?"

"It's being warm inside and being utterly calm and relaxed, it's when you have nothing to fear and you are around the people you know and trust" Chaos paused and shuffled his wings "I think that's contentment"

"Well, I am warm inside thanks to this stupid fever, and I am around a person I trust, so I must be content"

"You must be" Chaos agreed "your heart rate has slowed considerably, you are content"

And he was, his breathing was easier now and his coughs had become less frequent, his eyes closed and he stirred slightly with a small sigh "perhaps you are right" he muttered

"How is he?" Yazoo asked, Kadaj and Loz were standing beside him, Chaos turned his gaze to Yazoo and smiled faintly

"He is improving; I think that having someone stay with him helps to calm him down"

Sephiroth lifted his head and opened his eyes slightly "I'm not unconscious yet Chaos, don't push your luck"

"I can push it all I want, there's not much you can really do about it"

Yazoo smiled and sat down beside Chaos "he will get better, won't he?"

Chaos glanced at him then back at Sephiroth "I think so" he muttered "but he's got a lot of recovering to do…Mako poisoning isn't something you can shake a stick at"

He took hold of Yazoo's shoulders and looked him in the eye "it's serious type of poisoning, he might not be the same afterwards" he paused and glanced at Loz and Kadaj, they were staring worriedly at Sephiroth. Chaos turned his gaze back to Yazoo; his green eyes were shinning with tears, "you have to be prepared for the worst in case it does happen"

"But it won't" Yazoo murmured "it just won't"

Chaos sighed inaudibly and ruffled Yazoo's hair "if you think it won't, it won't" he stood up and gazed down at Sephiroth, he was sleeping somewhat peacefully now. Kadaj touched his shoulder timidly

"We'll watch him now, get some sleep"

"Thanks kid"

for those who were wondering the song's called goodnight by Evanescence

anyway please review and thanks for reading


	9. Chapter 9

Alive Again

Chapter 9

A/N: wow 9 chapters who'd have thought it

**disclaimer: **i don't own

Vincent pressed his fingers to Sephiroth's neck and sagged with relief then he found a weak pulse; he sank into a nearby chair and watched him closely. If what Chaos said was right his company would do Sephiroth a lot of good, but he had stopped breathing several times now and Vincent was starting to get slightly anxious. He took out the bottle of medicine he had brought yesterday and studied it carefully, people were happy to help him when he said a friend was ill with Mako poisoning. He stood up and uncorked the bottle; he lifted Sephiroth's head and poured the mixture into his mouth.

"Come on Sephiroth….please drink it"

He stirred slightly, eyelids flickering "Valentine?" he croaked, Vincent placed his metal claws on Sephiroth's cheeks as a confirmation, Sephiroth nodded and swallowed, grimacing at the sour taste.

"If it were anyone else I wouldn't have drank it" he muttered, Vincent frowned and turned his head.

"Why's that?" he asked curiously, but Sephiroth's head was lolling against his hand, he gently set him back down and turned to go sit back in the chair, when Sephiroth's hand grabbed his with a surprising strong grip. Vincent flinched and glanced back; Sephiroth's eyes were glazed with fever and were burning with fear.

"It's cold Vincent" he moaned "so cold"

Vincent made a low purring noise in his throat and Sephiroth's grip lessened slightly.

"Isn't that?" he muttered, Vincent nodded and purred again, Sephiroth sighed and closed his eyes

"Stay near me Valentine" he murmured "you're warm" Sephiroth yawned pulled Vincent towards him, Vincent sat down on the bed and took off his cloak wrapping it around him. Vincent hesitated for a moment then wrapped his arm around Sephiroth's back, he relaxed and smiled, he was holding his son at last. He gasped when he felt silky feathers under his fingers. Sephiroth chuckled low in his throat.

"It happens when I'm weak or when I will it Valentine" he opened his eyes and smirked at Vincent's expression then his eyes were filled with confusion "why is your arm around me Vincent?"

Vincent closed his eyes struggled with himself mentally, when he opened his eyes Sephiroth's expression was still confused but peaceful at the same time.

"I feel safe with you Vincent" it was weird to hear that being said by such a cold voice, Vincent stared into the green eyes and felt peaceful as Sephiroth shifted and raised himself up slightly; Vincent seized the opportunity before he lost the courage to do so and lifted Sephiroth up, cradling him against his chest. Sephiroth buried his face in Vincent's chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

"So you have a heart after all Valentine" he muttered and smirked. Vincent smirked back and placed his hand on Sephiroth's chest.

"It's seems you have a heart too Sephiroth, although it's beat is not as strong"

"No….but then you have two hearts Vincent, yours and a demon's"

"No not really…but without Chaos I wouldn't be alive now, his heart is joined with mine, he just makes the beats stronger"

Sephiroth smiled and pressed himself closer to Vincent "why are you so warm Valentine? And why has no one tried to take advantage of your heat."

"I have a chilly exterior. People don't like to get to close"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and leaned heavily on Vincent "I wonder why" he muttered. Vincent frowned slightly and looked around the room

"Where's your sword?"

Sephiroth bolted upright with a snarl "Kadaj!" he spat and made to stand up, Vincent tightened his grip around Sephiroth's back, and he let out a strangled hiss as Vincent's hand tightened around his wing he fell back into Vincent's arms.

"Sorry" Vincent said and brushed Sephiroth's hair out of his face "but I'm under orders for you not to move."

Sephiroth scowled "who told you that?" he snarled and winced slightly, Vincent stroked the ruffled feathers tentatively.

"Cloud, who is under orders from Rufus"

"Rufus?" Sephiroth asked and smirked "he only wants information doesn't he?"

"Yes"

Sephiroth closed his eyes "tell him I don't have any" he murmured, Vincent sighed

"You're stubborn aren't you?"

Sephiroth snorted "so are you Valentine"

Vincent held his tongue, he longed to say that Sephiroth had probably got that from him, but here wasn't the place or time.

"Well…" he said slowly "that's just coincidence I guess"

Sephiroth shifted and sat up, leaning against the wall, he felt slightly uncomfortable in Vincent's arms, why was he looking after him? And why didn't he just leave him to die in the forest, it would have been easier for all the people on Gaia if he had. What if Jenova took control of him again? He glanced over at Vincent who was watching him carefully.

"Are we ever forgiven?" he asked, trying not to show how much he wanted the answer to be yes.

Vincent's expression didn't change "I've never tried" a small smile appeared on his lips "though Cloud said he'd phone in the verdict"

"Well then…I shall wait with baited breath" he smirked as Vincent got up and went to the door "oh and Valentine"

Vincent turned with a questioning look "Yes"

"Tell Cloud thank you, he'll know what I'm talking about"

* * *

Yazoo watched Loz sleeping in the chair next to Sephiroth's bed and sighed; trust him to fall asleep when it was his shift. He stretched and pulled up another chair as silently as he could. Since the scene inside the church they had been taking turns to watch Sephiroth, strangely enough Vincent and Cloud seemed to be the ones watching Sephiroth the most. When Yazoo asked Cloud he just shrugged and turned away saying 'I just feel I owe it to him, you know?'

It was Vincent's turn now, but when Yazoo saw him curled up exhausted on the sofa he let him sleep on. He glanced towards Sephiroth and sighed, silly how the girl didn't protect him, she protected the rest of them.

"Vincent? Are you in here?" Cloud slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, he started as he saw Yazoo "oh sorry, I'll go if you want"

Yazoo smiled "no, it'd be nice to have company"

Cloud sat slowly on the end of Sephiroth's bed and glanced around the room "where is Vincent?"

"Asleep on the sofa" he gazed thoughtfully at Sephiroth "he does care about him" he turned and looked back at Cloud "and so do you, though you don't want to admit it"

Cloud flushed angrily "I do not care for that son of Jenova!"

Yazoo tilted his head "really?" he asked "I guess you haven't seen the way you look at him, there's horror in your eyes Cloud….you must have endured great sorrow"

"Yes, and some of it was caused by you and your brothers" Cloud spat bitterly and looked away. Yazoo blinked surprised

"We were only looking for mother, and all you had to do was give her to us!" Yazoo didn't notice his voice getting louder "why didn't you love us Cloud, we're family, connected through mother's cells! Why did you let us die Cloud?" he was yelling now but he didn't care. _How dare Cloud leave us, how dare he!_

Loz woke up with a start and stared in shock, Yazoo never got annoyed at anything, it was one of the irritating things about having him as a brother. He stood up quickly "Yazoo calm down!" he yelled

Yazoo turned and slowly relaxed "sorry for waking you Loz" he said calmly, Loz shrugged and sat back down

"I should have been awake, you go and sleep, I'll finish my turn then maybe I'll wake Vincent, how did he look?"

"Pretty exhausted, he was asleep on the sofa since after dinner" Yazoo said smoothly, it was as if Cloud didn't exist. Yazoo stood up and walked out of the door, while Loz turned his glare on Cloud

"Why did you have to go and do that then Cloud?"

"Do what?"

Loz banged his fist on the chair's armrest "don't play games Cloud, you were going on about how we caused your sadness"

Cloud shrugged and gazed at him coolly "well you did"

"That's not the point; everyone has certain topics that you can't discuss around them. For Kadaj its mother, for me it's the dark places in the Lifestream and for Yazoo its stuff about family. He hates what we did to the planet after he saw all the suffering in the Lifestream, and he considers you family Cloud. That's a pretty big thing for Yazoo; he doesn't think that highly of everyone"

Loz stood up and glared at Cloud "I'm going to check on Vincent" he muttered and strode out of the door.

Cloud sat for a few minutes feeling a little stunned, then he shook himself slightly and left the room closing the door quietly behind him

* * *

sorry if it's short, i sort of have writers block

anyways i'm wondering if i should bring Genesis into the story, your reviews will decide :D

untill next time


	10. Chapter 10

alive again

chapter 10 Genesis

A/N: true to your reviews i added him in, hope you enjoy

**Disclaimer: **sadly i don't own

"Sephiroth? What are you doing up, you should be resting" Cloud snapped and rolled his eyes at Sephiroth's stubborn attitude. He looked back at him and did a double take "hey who said you could wear my clothes!"

Sephiroth gazed coolly at him and shrugged "there was nothing else"

"What about your armor?" Cloud hissed and stood up placing his hands on his hips, he was annoyed that Sephiroth looked so ordinary in his clothes. He was wearing a plain white shirt and black trousers which showed that he could blend in if he wanted to.

Sephiroth shrugged and leaned against the wall, ignoring Cloud's furious stare "my armor is covered in dirt and blood; I don't really think that Tifa's hospitality would hold if any of it stained the carpet"

"What about my hospitality?" Cloud snarled and advanced slowly towards Sephiroth whose hand went instinctively to his side were Masamune was normally strapped. He snarled in annoyance and glared at the ceiling, that was all Cloud needed he leapt and knocked Sephiroth to the floor. "Why are you back!" he snarled "why couldn't you just stay dead!"

Sephiroth struggled, but as the Mako was still strong in his blood his strength was that of an average SOLIDER. Cloud easily held him down and wrapped his hands around his throat.

"Why did you cause the Stigma? Why did you try to kill me! And why are you back now, couldn't you just leave us alone!" his grip tightened around Sephiroth's throat, he struggled wildly and kicked Cloud savagely anywhere he could reach.

"Let go Strife!" he growled "if I haven't killed you yet, do you really think I'd start now?"

Cloud loosened his grip and let Sephiroth up, he rolled over and coughed covering his mouth with his hands

"Not now" he muttered "please not now" he muttered, and a shudder ran down his body.

Cloud turned away in disgust, why did he have to keep holding on, why could he just let go?

_**Have you ever considered that he's scared?**_

Cloud flinched and looked around; the voice sounding in his head defiantly wasn't Zack or Aerith. He took a deep breath and gazed down at Sephiroth, No_ why would he be scared?_

_**Jenova may be gone from the planet, but she still remains in the Lifestream, imagine how annoyed she'd be to find the being who betrayed her.**_

_What do you mean betrayed her?_ Cloud frowned keeping his gaze on Sephiroth. _He did pretty much everything she asked… didn't he?_

_**The only reason you managed**__** to beat him, was because he let you, he knew to escape Jenova's influence he had to die. So he let himself lose and let you run him through with your sword several times, and when he said 'I will never be a memory' that was mostly Jenova, though part of it was him.**_

_How do you know all this?_

_**I've been watching all of you for a while Cloud, you're not that difficult to find. And you might want to get Sephiroth away**__** from that carpet, he looks pretty sick.**_

Cloud whirled round and spotted Sephiroth on his knees with both hands covering his mouth; Cloud hauled him towards the bathroom and turned away as he was violently sick. He waited until he had finished then handed him a glass of water

"Here, rinse your mouth"

Sephiroth took the glass and nodded his thanks "I know you don't want to help me" he took a sip then spat it out "and I know you want me dead" he waved a silencing hand as Cloud opened his mouth to protest "you just strangled me Cloud" he purred "I know that you don't want me here, but due to the circumstances" he cast a gloomy look at the toilet "I don't think I can move anywhere any time soon"

"Can you walk?" Cloud asked, his hatred had died away again and he found himself looking at the Sephiroth he knew long ago, Sephiroth shifted and grimaced.

"I'd prefer not to" he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes "I don't know what caused that, I was feeling fine this morning"

"It can strike at random moments" Cloud said, remembering when he had Mako poisoning, Sephiroth shook his head slowly

"No, this felt more forced, like something had deliberately caused it"

"You mean like your relapse in the church"

Sephiroth nodded "exactly"

Cloud thought for a moment before replying "Sephiroth…don't think I'm crazy…but I heard a voice in my head while you were on the floor"

Sephiroth opened his eyes "you mean a voice that wasn't Aerith's or Zack's?"

Cloud blushed "how do you know about that?" he muttered.

Sephiroth held his gaze "after you helped me in the church the pain in my body was unbearable, so to escape I moved most of my consciousness into others. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo didn't mind, well of course they wouldn't, and Vincent made me feel somewhat welcome. But in your head Cloud was the only place I could talk to Zack and Aerith again and try to beg their forgiveness"

"And were you forgiven?"

He nodded with a slight smile "yes, Zack has always been the forgiving type and Aerith accepted my apology, she also told me why she thought my relapse had happened" he paused then went on "another with the same cells as me as somehow occasionally taking control of my system and forcing the sudden fever spikes and other things"

Cloud frowned "how could they do that? And who is doing it?"

Sephiroth grimaced and rubbed his temples "through telepathy, Materia…I don't _know"_ the last word turned into a whine, Cloud sighed

"Your fever's probably gone up again…here let me check" as his hand touched Sephiroth's forehead, a flash of auburn blinded him. He shook his head and blinked, Sephiroth watched him carefully

"What did you see Cloud?"

Cloud rubbed his eyes "just a flash of auburn, nothing to be worried about"

Sephiroth allowed him to be convinced and made himself a makeshift nest out of towels on the floor. He sighed as he laid down on them; He was going to be there a while if the mystery person kept on messing with his body.

A small figure squeezed past Cloud and knelt down in front to Sephiroth, he looked up into Marlene's bright eyes and smiled slightly

"Hello Marlene"

She smiled shyly and felt his stomach gently "does it hurt?"

He winced even though her hands were very gentle "yes quite a bit" she took her hands off with a worried expression and he said quickly "but I don't mind you doing that, it helped with the ache"

Her face lit up and she held out a yellow Moogle doll, it was unbelievably cute with black button eyes and a small stitched smile "he helped me when I was ill, he listens when you have no one to talk to"

Sephiroth carefully took the toy and cradled it in his arms "does he have a name?"

"no…not really, I just called him Moogle" she thought for a moment then her face lit up a grin that only Zack could have matched "why don't you pick the name Sephiroth"

Sephiroth glanced at Cloud who nodded and mouthed _make it a good one_. Sephiroth looked carefully at the toy then smiled "I'll call him….Cloud"

Cloud's mouth fell open "when I said make it a good one I didn't mean you should choose my name"

Sephiroth smiled and held it out so Cloud could see "what? It has your smile"

Cloud had to admit that the small smile on the Moogle face looked a lot like his own, "but why?" he asked tilting his head with a happy expression though he did his best to hid it.

"Because if I remember correctly Zack often referred to you as kitten and look" he pointed at its ears and they had a distinctly rounded and cat like look at them "and it's the exact shade of your hair Cloud"

Cloud blushed and ruffled Marlene's hair "let's leave Sephiroth to sleep now"

"Why is he in the bathroom?" Marlene asked, staring with interest and confusion as Sephiroth curled up on his towel nest.

"Because his tummy is upset"

"Oh" Marlene smiled and waved as she walked out "hope you're better soon Sephiroth"

He was already half asleep but he gave her a wave and a small smile as the door closed behind her and Cloud, he absentmindedly cradled the Moogle Cloud to his chest and yawned, it had a warm comforting smell and he soon fell asleep.

* * *

"Can I go see him now?"

Vincent sighed and set down his book, Kadaj was staring hopefully at him as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"No Kadaj for the fourth time you can't go see him, Cloud said he just fell asleep"

Kadaj glared and stood up folding his arms "he's my brother; I have the right to see him!"

"I know you do but just listen, he just had a relapse Kadaj and those aren't something you can risk worsening"

Kadaj gave him one last glare then looked with interest at the book he was reading "LOVELESS? What's that?"

Vincent stared at him "what are you talking about, I don't like plays, especially LOVELESS"

Kadaj looked at him confused "then why are you reading it?"

Vincent looked down at his book and his eyes narrowed "how did that happen?" he murmured then stood up and tucked the book under his arm "I need to talk to Cloud"

"Does that mean I can see Sephiroth?"

"No!" Vincent snarled then sighed "just stay here okay"

"Fine" Kadaj said sulkily and stuck out his tongue at his retreating back, he pulled out Masamune and watched the light dance across it.

"It's a nice sword isn't it?"

Kadaj spun round; a man with auburn hair was lounging on the sofa, his right hand was curled around the hilt of a red rapier, a huge black wing drew from his left shoulder.

"Who are you?" Kadaj asked warily, he clutched the hilt of Masamune but it was too heavy for him to do serious damage with it. The stranger glanced at him and smiled

"Names aren't really that important but if you insist" he stood to attention and smirked "Ex SOILDER First Class Genesis at your service"

"SOLIDER…but wasn't that?"

"The same force that Sephiroth and Cloud were part of? Yes" he walked slowly round Kadaj looking him up and down "you don't look much like him" he said disdainfully as he stopped in front of him "but then I suppose" he purred "you're only a Remnant after all"

Kadaj bristled "I'm not just a Remnant!" he spat "I'm his brother!"

"Hardly" Genesis rolled his eyes and smirked "but I guess you'd know all about that, since you're only a part of him"

Kadaj leapt at him bringing up Masamune to slash at him, Genesis leaned away and Kadaj smashed into the sofa, he lay there dazed as Genesis pinned him there and held his rapier against his throat.

"I want to make this absolutely clear" he hissed "one…you don't attack me and two you don't steal my books"

"What you mean LOVELESS?" Kadaj asked innocently, Genesis's eyes flashed

"Where is it?" he snarled and pressed the rapier deeper into Kadaj's throat, Kadaj smirked

"Right behind you"

Genesis turned, then flew backwards letting out a piercing shriek as three bullets sank into his shoulder. His head smashed against the wall and he slid to the floor unconscious, Vincent bent down and examined him carefully then looked at Kadaj,

He shrugged "what? I did try to warn him"

"Just shut up and help me get him upstairs" Vincent growled, he put Genesis's arm around his shoulder and frowned "I think it would be better if Sephiroth didn't know about this"

"Why?" Kadaj wrapped his arm around Genesis's waist and looked curiously at Vincent, he sighed

"I'll tell you later"

was it okay? i hope i managed to make an good excuse for him to fit in

oh wells

please review :D


	11. Chapter 11

alive again

chapter 11 

A/N: my random note i've finally got Advent children on DVD, yay! anyway here it is sorry if it's a bit short, i sort of have writers block again

**disclaimer:** i don't own

Genesis sat up on the roof of 7th heaven and gingerly felt his shoulder, Tifa had stitched and bandaged the wounds and made him a sling without accepting even a word of thanks, he didn't deserve their help, he was only a spy, a thief, a liar in the dark. It was pouring with rain but he didn't notice, the rain helped him to forget all the things he had done, so he stayed and let the rain freeze him slowly.

"Genesis, what are you doing out here?"

Genesis looked round and saw one of the Remnants standing behind him; he looked the most like Sephiroth and even sort of had his voice. Genesis smiled thinly.

"Freezing my tail off"

The Remnant sat down beside him and stared deeply into his eyes "you're unhappy" he murmured "why are you unhappy Genesis?"

Genesis snorted and looked away "where to begin" he muttered "and what's your name anyway, before I start bearing my soul"

"I'm Yazoo" _his eyes are lighter than Sephiroth's_ Genesis decided _and more hopeful_. Genesis let out a long breath and stared into the distance

"I don't know where to start really"

"Shall I start then?"

"What?" Genesis looked at him surprised, Yazoo smiled bitterly

"You think I haven't had my fair share of nights when I wake up and feel there's no hope left for me?"

Genesis stayed silent so Yazoo went on "before I died…that was the worst thing I have ever experienced and that is the nightmare I wake up from the most" he paused and looked away, staring down at the people in the streets. "We had somehow managed to survive the explosion that those two _Turks" _he spat out the name with oblivious contempt then went on "Loz was in a terrible state and so was I, but luckily we had Materia so would cure ourselves….but we were weak Genesis, and we were bleeding on the inside, somehow we dragged ourselves upright and started towards the Shinra building to find Kadaj and Cloud but then…" he stopped again and looked down closing his eyes.

"What happened Yazoo?" Genesis asked, Yazoo's eyes opened and he let out a little gasp.

"Sorry…..it still hurts sometimes" his arms were wrapped tightly around his ribs, Genesis frowned

"How can it still hurt? You went into the Lifestream like me didn't you?"

Yazoo laughed mirthlessly "it protected our souls but not our bodies, they were just dumped into storage and left there until we came to life again" he looked back at Genesis and smiled at his expression "there was a feeling of being drawn away and then I wasn't in my body anymore, I was in Sephiroth's…the power he had Genesis is unimaginable, every cell was bursting with it and I was amazed at how he used it in combat…..but it was our fault, mine and Loz's, we were too weak and he needed all of our strengths to stay in us after Cloud had run him through with his swords…. so we drifted apart becoming separate once more. Kadaj tried to fight the Lifestream but it was too much….he let go…" he stopped and several silent tears slide down his face mixing with the rain.

Genesis hesitantly put his hand on Yazoo's shoulder; he smiled faintly and went on, his voice surprisingly steady

"We had somehow been transported to the battle ground and were resisting the Lifestream rain as best we could, I hatred Cloud then, more than I've ever hated someone before, I lifted my gun and I shot him" he lowered his head and Genesis felt his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Hey….don't…its okay…it's over now" Genesis slowly wrapped his arm around Yazoo and drew him close; Yazoo leaned on him and cried silently into his shoulder.

"I don't normally do this" he said shakily after his sobs had subsided slightly

"it's better to let it out then kept it in and let it eat away at you inside, trust me when I woke up I had several fits of crying until it finally died down"

"Really? You don't seem the type"

"Really" Genesis stood up and held out his hand "well I don't know about you, but I'm going back inside, I don't want to die of pneumonia"

Yazoo stiffened slightly the he smiled and took his hand "neither do I, I came to close to it once, I don't want it to happen again"

Genesis smiled and went back inside; he turned and called back over his shoulder "thanks Yazoo, it's nice to know someone else understands" he turned and froze staring at the figure in front of him. The light shone down on his hair casting a silvery glow around him and green eyes glowed in the low light, Genesis thought he looked like an angel.

"Hello Genesis" Sephiroth purred and unsheathed Masamune.

An angel of death.

yeah i thought a conversation between Genesis and Yazoo was a good idea

thanks for reading you guys, you've made my days better with your reviews

can you give me some ideas on what to write next, i'm kind of stuck

until next time


	12. Chapter 12

Alive again

chapter 12 betrayal

A/N: thanks to JesusisLove for the idea though i kinda twisted it.

Discalimer: i don't own as we all know

"Tseng, get your butt up to Rufus's office, he's got someone there to see ya"

Tseng looked up from the mountains of paperwork and cast Reno a despairing look "I'm guessing this can't wait, can it?"

"Nope, and he said to hurry, the visitor is kind of unpredictable"

Tseng pushed back his chair and followed Reno up to Rufus office, Reno knocked on the door

"Yo boss, Tseng's here"

Tseng shot Reno a nasty look "I could have announced myself Reno"

Reno shrugged and leaned back against the wall, smirking "he's all yours"

Tseng pushed the door open and went in, Rufus as usual was sitting behind his desk behind a large stack of paperwork, he craned his neck and spotted Tseng "ah you're here, take a seat"

Tseng sat and gave Rufus a questioning look "why have you got so much paperwork sir?"

"There's no rest for the wicked Tseng" Rufus had a rare smile on his face "there have been a lot of sighting recently"

"Of who?"

"Of me Tseng" Genesis stepped into the light with a cruel smile "did you miss me?"

"Genesis! What are you doing here?"

"Doing a rare favour for Shinra of course" he went over and sat on the edge of desk tilting his head "you want revenge don't you? And Rufus wants information, I can give you both those things" he hoped off the desk and walked over to the window, looking down at the people in the streets "I have managed to bring Sephiroth here, he had discovered that I was back and wanted revenge himself" he smiled thinly "I guess he didn't get it"

"How did you bring him here?" Tseng wanted to leapt up and hug Genesis or at least shake his hand, but Genesis was quick to take offence and if he had managed to bring Sephiroth here without getting killed, who knows what he could do.

Genesis turned with a small smirk "I suppose you heard about the relapses that Sephiroth kept suffering from"

"Yes go on" Rufus was watching him carefully, trying to work out where this conversation was going.

"They were caused by me" Genesis turned back to the window "when I came back I discovered a new type of Materia, one that causes someone's condition to worsen to the point of death, but it can't kill, believe me I've tried"

"How does it work?" Rufus laced his finger together and leaned back in his chair, staring with undisguised interest. Genesis smiled

"first, the subject has to be either ill or injured if they aren't then the Materia doesn't work" he paused then went on "secondly you need their genetic code, I was lucky I happened to come across a trail of blood in the forest, it wasn't Sephiroth's but there was enough of a match to make the Materia work….he's been getting steadily worse ever since and still is now" he took out a glowing black orb and tossed it from hand to hand "I hold Sephiroth's well being in my hands" he purred "what a responsibility"

"Where is he now?" Tseng stood up, raring to go and find Sephiroth, Genesis smirked

"Could be anywhere now, I let him lose in the building"

"What! Do you know how dangerous he is? He could have killed half the people here by now!" Tseng yelled then dashed to the door and ran out into the corridor. Rufus and Genesis watched him go with some amusement

"Did you really set him lose?" Rufus asked, Genesis sat in the now vacant seat and leaned back

"Yes, but as long as I have this" he held up the black Materia "he's never really free"

* * *

"Hey kadaj, do you know where Sephiroth is…I can't find him" Loz prodded Kadaj until he sat up, he glared at Loz and folded his arms

"Why should I? I can't even go see him"

Loz rolled his eyes "don't do the stroppy teenager act now Kadaj, this is serious"

"Oh is it now?" Kadaj stood up, his eyes blazing "if it's so serious why don't you go ask Vincent or Cloud or someone who gives a"

"Loz…Kadaj"

They both turned and stared as Yazoo dragged himself into the room his face contorted with pain; he swayed then collapsed to the floor curling up into a tight ball. Loz ran over and shook him gently.

"Yazoo! Yazoo! What's wrong?"

Yazoo lifted his head slightly "Genesis…he fought with Sephiroth, pulled out a Materia and hurt Sephiroth, then he hit me"

"What! How did that bring you down, you're part of Sephiroth like us Yazoo, we're almost as strong as him!" Kadaj yelled angrily

"He not as strong anymore, can't you feel it? He hit me in the ribs, that was were I was bleeding when we died Kadaj….I had punctured lungs from the explosion"

Kadaj clenched his fists "where is Sephiroth now?"

"Genesis took him" Yazoo murmured and his eyes closed, Kadaj turned away trying his hardest not to destroy something in his rage, _I thought maybe Genesis was different, I should have listened to Vincent and not left anyone alone with him, he is going to pay what he did to my brothers_. He faced Loz who was sobbing quietly as usual.

"I'm going to kill him" Loz moaned, Kadaj drew out Souba and looked at the blade

"Let me do it for you Loz," he looked down at Loz's tear streaked face, feeling madness dancing in his eyes "I'll bring you back his head as a present"

"I don't want his head" Loz hissed, his eyes were shinning with the same madness "I want his heart" he looked down at Yazoo "shouldn't we stay and help him"

Kadaj swiped Souba through the air "no! We'll just put him on the sofa, he'll be fine Loz, I promise"

"No" Yazoo's eyes opened "I'm coming with you" he struggled to sit up and hissed in pain holding his ribs, Kadaj knelt down and looked him in the eye

"No brother, you stay here and recover, I promise you we'll bring Sephiroth back and teach Genesis a lesson he won't ever forget"

"Good" Yazoo smiled as he lost consciousness again, Loz stood up and felt his left arm, he grinned and held out his arm, the Dual Hound was strapped there again.

"Was it mother?" he asked, watching the electricity sparking on the Dual Hound, Kadaj smiled

"Maybe not"

ooo so Loz and Kadaj are going to avenge Yazoo, this should be interesting ;)

see ya next time


	13. Chapter 13

Alive again

chapter 13

A/N ah the unlucky chapter ( only for some... hint hint)

disclaimer: i don't own

_Genesis…_

Sephiroth staggered and slowly sank to the floor; he's_ killing me, he killing me as painfully and slowly as he can in revenge for me ruining his chance to stop the degradation. _He let out a low moan "Genesis….what have I done"

"Ruined your chance for redemption" Genesis landed beside him and held up the Materia watching the light dance across its surface "you know what I wished Sephiroth?" he looked down and smiled horribly "I wished that I could share an apple with you, just one and my life would be complete" he held his rapier to Sephiroth's neck "but you weren't there…..were you?" he drew the rapier back and slammed it against Sephiroth's ribs with enough force to shatter them, he flew into the wall and lay crumpled as Genesis leapt into the air and hovered above him.

"Genesis…." Sephiroth moaned "forgive me"

"Too late for that _brother_" he laughed mirthlessly and started to gather a fireball in his hand "should I call you brother? After all we do have the same cells… we're both monsters"

Sephiroth lifted his head and raised himself up onto his arms "dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul, pride is lost, wings stripped away, the end is nigh" he unfurled his own wing feeling some of the feathers fall on top of him.

"Such is the fate of a monster" Genesis muttered and landed in front of him "the wandering soul knows no rest"

"Will you stop wandering…..hero?"

Genesis looked down at him in surprise "hero" he whispered, Sephiroth tried to sit up and fell back onto his arms again

"You can be….you can be a hero to Cloud and Tifa, and to Marlene and Denzel, you just have to let go" he looked at the wavering Genesis and muttered pleadingly "I know you can …Genesis"

Genesis hesitated, seeming to be torn between the want to be a hero and the want for vengeance, the fire crackled in his hand and he jerked slightly coming out of his thoughts. "The world does need a new hero" he whispered he stared at the fire the pointed his hand at Sephiroth "but to insure my triumph, I'd better get rid of the old one first" with that he threw the fire ball at Sephiroth who somehow managed to dodge and got shakily to his feet.

"Genesis, think about what you're doing"

"I don't want to think!" he yelled throwing fireball after fireball at Sephiroth "I don't wan to feel!" "I don't want to get hurt again!"

Sephiroth stood and let the fire strike him again and again until his legs could no longer hold him up; he sank to the floor and looked up smiling "going to kill me Genesis? I advise you not to"

"Why?" Genesis snorted but lowered his hand "who's going to come and save you from me?"

A large lamp connected with the back with Genesis's head and he fell to the floor unconscious, Tseng stood over him panting slightly, Sephiroth smiled slightly

"Well that took care of him" he muttered, he looked up and for a second a trance of fear flickered in his eyes as he saw Tseng's expression. Tseng stepped forward still holding the lamp, not really knowing what to do. Here was the chance he had been waiting for, Sephiroth was lying in front of him totally defenceless and he was just standing there staring at him.

Sephiroth struggled to get up and glared at the Materia still clutched in Genesis's hand, Tseng followed his gaze and stared at the Materia for a moment then he picked it up.

"Now I wonder how this works?" he whispered and stared directly at Sephiroth, he flinched and almost looked away, Sephiroth's stare had gone beyond glaring, his Mako infused eyes burned with hatred

"So…Tseng it's come to this, a petty plan for vengeance I thought that sort of thing was beneath you, obliviously the standard of Turks has declined since I was last here"

"The last time you were here" Tseng was struggling to kept his voice calm "you ran me through with your sword"

"Well then, you shouldn't have been snooping around, curiosity killed the cat you know"

Tseng let out a cry of rage and activated the Materia. Sephiroth's eyes dulled and he flinched, his shoulders shaking with the effort not to cough. Then all the colour drained from his face and he retched.

Tseng turned away in disgust "and I thought you were stronger" he kicked Genesis in the ribs as he stepped over him "monsters the both of you" he paused then stamped on Genesis's wing, there was an audible crack. Sephiroth winced in sympathy as Genesis screamed and knocked Tseng to the ground.

"You'll regret this Turk!" he howled and lifted his rapier

Sephiroth watched the scene in front of him and a dark smile spread across his face.

sorry it's short got writer's block again

thanks for reading :D


	14. Chapter 14

A/N thanks to DamonWesker your idea helped a lot

Disclaimer: i don't own

* * *

Tseng gritted his teeth as the rapier stabbed into him repeatedly; he closed his eyes sickened by the sight of his blood soaking Genesis. Even when he was tortured it wasn't this savage, genesis was driven by pure rage and was not being careful like Kadaj and his gang were. He even wished that they were attacking him; the long haired one was surprisingly gentle. Tseng turned his head and looked pleadingly at Sephiroth, there was a flicker of sympathy in his eyes but his glaze was mostly fixed on the Materia still clutched in his hand. Tseng looked up at Genesis and noticed a wound in his shoulder, he looked from the Materia to Sephiroth who smirked and gave him a brief nod, using the strength he still had left Tseng kicked Genesis off him them plunged the Materia into his shoulder, Genesis yelped then his eyes widened in surprise as Tseng threw the Materia towards Sephiroth. He caught it and smirked at Tseng

"Thank you Tseng" he purred and stood up, no longer weakened by the Materia, he cast Genesis a fleeting glance "what shall we do with you Genesis?"

"You truly are a monster Sephiroth" Genesis gasped and sat up holding his wing "threatening an old friend"

"You already said I lost my chance of redemption" Sephiroth said smoothly "so I have nothing to fear, though" he looked at Tseng who was crawling towards him slowly "I think Tseng should decide your fate"

He went over to him and pressed the Materia into his hand then bent down and looked him in the eyes "don't injure Genesis more than necessary, we may need him" he looked at the wounds and sighed "Genesis… you really are all anger and no technique, he's easily going to recover from those wounds then where will you be?"

"Far…away from here" he stood up shakily and almost fell; Sephiroth moved to his side and put a hand on his shoulder

"Old friend, isn't time for the wandering soul to rest?"

Genesis wavered then swiped at Sephiroth with the rapier; he dodged and stood defensively over Tseng "stop this Genesis!"

"Why aren't you having fun?" Genesis swung the rapier towards them laughing. Sephiroth brought Masamune up to meet it easily and smiled

"You're as clumsy as a child Genesis" he turned his head slightly spoke in a undertone "use the Materia"

There was loud crack and Genesis screamed as another bone in his wing broke and he sank to the floor.

"Sephiroth!" Kadaj and Loz speed into the room and looked around in surprise, Loz scratched his head.

"Yazoo said you were hurt" he said and gazed at Genesis "and that he had taken you here"

"Well you are right Loz" Sephiroth said patiently "I was" he turned to Kadaj "could you get Tseng out of here, I'll deal with Genesis"

"Will you give him to Rufus?" Tseng asked, he was rather annoyed at being taken anywhere by _those_ two. Sephiroth though for a moment then shook his head

"No I don't think so"

"And where are they taking me?" Tseng demanded "I don't need to go anywhere"

"You'll die if your wounds aren't treated" Sephiroth said coldly "and unless you have a death wish" he noticed Tseng's expression and sighed "yes, I know you don't trust them or me, but it's either us or death"

"I'd rather die" Tseng snarled and Sephiroth sighed

"Loz"

Loz stepped forwards and punched Tseng hard on the side of his head, the Turk was knocked unconscious instantly and Loz picked up him, Kadaj darted to his side and looked at Tseng "will he make it Sephiroth? His wounds are deep"

"He might, if you hurry"

Kadaj nodded and he and Loz ran out the room, Sephiroth walked over to Genesis and looked down at him "now" he held Masamune against Genesis's throat "what am I going to do with you?"

* * *

"Vincent have you seen Kadaj?"

Vincent looked up from the book he was reading and frowned "no, and I haven't seen Loz either before you ask"

Cloud sat down next to him and buried his head in his hands "god this is the last thing I need right now, there'll be wide spread panic is people recognise them"

"I can go look for them" Vincent suggest, Cloud looked at him and saw that his eyes were glowing gold, he shook his head

"No, we'll just wait for them, it shouldn't take long"

Vincent smiled and went back to his book "sooner than you think"

"What?" Cloud asked confused.

The door opened and Loz walked in carrying Tseng, Cloud's mouth dropped open "what?"

Kadaj strolled in and closed the door "hello brother, we brought some company"

Vincent watched the blood drip onto the carpet and sighed "Tifa's going to kill you two" he muttered and went over to examine Tseng "he'll live" he tilted Tseng's head and winced "who did that?"

Loz looked down guilty "I did" his shoulders started shaking, Kadaj rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder

"Vincent wasn't telling you off Loz, don't cry"

"I'm _not_ crying!" he carefully placed Tseng on the sofa and wiped his eyes furiously. Tseng groaned and opened his eyes

"Where am I?"

"7th Heaven" Vincent looked down at him with his usual cold expression "Loz and Kadaj brought you here"

"I know that!"

"Hey there's no need for that" Cloud said annoyed, Turks were such jerks sometimes

Tseng's eyes narrowed as he spotted Cloud "so…at last you're no longer hiding from yourself"

Kadaj and Loz bristled and Cloud frowned slightly "I didn't know that I was so lowly thought of by the Turks"

Tseng sat up with difficulty and grimaced "you ran away from your duty"

Kadaj snorted and rolled his eyes "please, you're starting to sound like Reno"

"Kadaj" Vincent muttered warningly, kadaj glanced at him and went quiet, Tseng laughed mockingly

"The Remnant is mothered by the vampire how touching"

Cloud quickly grabbed Kadaj and held him back; Vincent gave Tseng his coldest look "why did Sephiroth make Kadaj and Loz bring you here?"

"I don't know" Tseng felt his eyes closing, Vincent sighed and went to find bandages, he poked his head around a door and checked on Yazoo, he was curled up on a bed fast asleep. Vincent closed the door quietly and went into the kitchen.

_If Tseng is going to be staying here_ Chaos muttered _he'd better start showing a little more respect._

"I wouldn't expect him to" Vincent said conversationally as he searched through cupboards "he's in a house where his least favourite people are"

_So? You were a Turk too Vincent, don't forget it_

"I'll try" Vincent found the bandages then took some towels and soaked them with water. Something tugged at his cloak and he turned, Marlene and Denzel stood behind him.

"Who are you talking to Uncle Vincent?" Marlene asked, she was clutching a toy Moogle to her chest, Vincent smiled slightly and bent down to her level

"I was talking to Chaos"

"Cool!" Denzel jumped up and down "can I look at your gun please?"

"Sorry Denzel, it's dangerous" Vincent watched his face fall then took out Cerberus and held it up for him to see. "It's dangerous because it's triple-barreled and tripled-chambered, so it can fire three bullets at once"

"Cool!" Denzel leapt up and down excitedly "can you shot it at something, I want to see!"

"Not at the moment Denzel, I have to look after someone now"

"Is it Yazoo?" Marlene asked "he looked ill"

"No but I'll bet he'd like it if you let him borrow that Moogle"

Marlene smiled "okay" she grabbed Denzel and dragged him out of the room, Vincent chuckled quietly and went back to tend the disagreeable Turk.

so Tseng's at 7th Heaven and Sephiroth's still at Shinra

will they ever get along?

thanks for reading


	15. Chapter 15

Alive again

chapter 15

A/N: if people have waited i'm sorry, my internet connect is really unpredictable so i've no idea when i'll be able to update

Disclaimer: i do not own

* * *

"Cloud; do you know when Sephiroth's coming back?"

Cloud sighed and glanced at the sleeping Turk, he had done nothing but complain since he had got there, he turned back to Kadaj and shrugged "I don't know, Sephiroth is always kind of unpredictable"

"So he could come back today?"

Cloud didn't really want to meet his gaze; his eyes were too much like Sephiroth's and he didn't want to be reminded of him now. Kadaj's expression went cold and he turned away

"I know you don't want us as a family Cloud" he hissed

Cloud blinked startled "what?"

"But we can't help it Cloud, we're mother's sons, connected through her cells" he turned back around and his eyes were cold. "But you never wanted that did you?"

"How did we even get onto this subject?" Cloud asked and turned away, kadaj glared at his back then grabbed his shoulders forcing him to look at him

"Listen Cloud, we're family and if you don't like it, then go tell someone who gives a dam!"

Cloud pushed his hands off him and went to the door; he paused and turned back to Kadaj, "I never said I didn't want to be part of it….I'm just not ready"

"What do you mean not ready?" Kadaj yelled, but Cloud had already gone out, Kadaj sat on the floor and wrapped his arms round his knees. "Stupid Cloud, he's left us again"

"It isn't easy being a Remnant"

Kadaj looked up slightly "shut up Turk, you're not wanted either"

Tseng glared at him and sat up gingerly "what's all this about Cloud being family?"

"He just" Kadaj clenched his fists "refuses to face facts"

Tseng smirked "he's done that already, I'm surprised he's going back to his normal routine, I thought he'd changed when you came back"

"Well…he hasn't" Kadaj met his gaze and noticed Tseng's calculating look "stop it Tseng! I don't know what happened to make me come back!"

Tseng flinched and glared at Kadaj "you must know something!"

"Well I don't" Kadaj muttered sulkily and looked at the floor, Tseng swore quietly and stared at the ceiling

"Well this is just great; I'm trapped in a house containing four of my worst enemies"

"You're not trapped" Kadaj looked up and smirked at him "you can go whenever you want"

Tseng's scowl darkened "you're an evil little bastard"

"And what does that make you _sir_, after all we let you live, you were going to kill us"

"And it would have been justified"

Kadaj smiled and stood up "we could always finished what we started Tseng" he turned and smiled behind Tseng "Loz, Yazoo"

The other two Remnants walked into the room and stood either side of Kadaj, Yazoo cast Tseng a cool look "is this one of the Turks Kadaj?"

"Yeah"

"Do you think he's glad to see us?" Yazoo tilted his head and stared at Tseng, he shivered. Yazoo's voice was too much like Sephiroth's, it had the same aloof air to it and his gaze was piercing like he could see into his mind.

"He didn't give us mother!" Loz glared at Tseng who glared back unfazed by Loz's obvious strength. Yazoo put his hand on Loz's shoulder and shook his head slightly, Loz backed down but what Yazoo had tried to avoid had happened, Kadaj's eyes widened then narrowed dangerously

"He didn't did he Loz" he said quietly, Loz didn't answer and looked down at his feet, Yazoo moved forward slightly and placed his hand lightly on Kadaj's back

"Easy brother, relax" he murmured, Kadaj turned his head sharply then relaxed and pressed himself closer to Yazoo. He said something Tseng didn't hear and Yazoo nodded. He gazed at Tseng and walked over to stand in front of him

"Sephiroth is coming Tseng and he will decide what to do with you"

"Why him?" Tseng struggled to his feet and glared openly at Yazoo "what right has he got?"

"He's the eldest and since we have already decided your fate once, it's only fair he should take his turn"

"He's already done that!" Tseng hissed and Kadaj shrugged

"Then it's his turn again…why? Are you scared Tseng, because nobody else is here to share in your pain or maybe Sephiroth will bring back Genesis as well"

"What did he do?" Tseng spat then flinched in surprise as Yazoo shoved him hard

"He injured me Turk! And he caused Sephiroth's relapses! He's guilty and so are you!"

"What the hell did I do?"

"You wanted revenge and you kept mother from us!" Kadaj threw himself at Tseng only to be caught be two clawed grey hands, he turned and stared into Chaos's golden eyes. The demon growled low in his throat and the Remnants scattered and huddled together in a corner.

"What are you doing Kadaj?" he hissed and flexed his hands, Kadaj watched his claws nervously and didn't reply, Chaos hissed and his gaze fixed on Tseng who was staring in horror at him.

"What are you?"

"I am not a _what_, mortal. I am Chaos" he smiled revealing long fangs "got a problem with it?"

"What's up with Vincent?" Kadaj asked timidly, Chaos looked at him and smiled tiredly

"He's resting and he probably will be after I change back, transforming is tiring"

"Why? Is he ill" Yazoo looked up at Chaos with a concerned expression he normally used with his brothers, Chaos shook his head

"No he's just very tired; he was watching Sephiroth for nights if you remember?"

The Remnants nodded and Tseng was surprised at their and Vincent's concern for Sephiroth, _they must really care_ he thought and felt a twinge of longing _it must be good to know you're not alone._ He looked up and noticed everyone was staring at him; he shifted from foot to foot then looked directly at Chaos "why are you in Vincent's body?"

Chaos grinned nastily "that's a fair question" he turned to the Remnants "did Vincent tell you?"

They shook their heads and he sighed "alright then" he muttered _Vincent is going to kill me_ he thought. "You see Vincent was once a Turk"

"A Turk!" Tseng interrupted, Chaos bared his teeth and Tseng went quiet

"As I was saying Vincent used to be a Turk"

"Wait, how come he's not in any files of the Turks" Tseng asked, Chaos growled in irritation

"Hojo probably destroyed them after he had finished experimenting on him, and to cut a long story short, he fell in love with a woman who had Jenova cells planted in her and her unborn child Sephiroth"

Kadaj gasped and Loz pressed himself closer to Yazoo, Chaos cast them a gaze before going on "Vincent didn't agree with her on this and who would, but she refused to listen so he went to Hojo about it, Hojo shot him and for years played with his body and planted three other demons into him granting him immortality and other enhanced abilities" Chaos paused and a look a contempt spread over his face "they are brutish animals and have no form of consciousness. I was implanted in Vincent to kept him alive and so far I've done a pretty good job" he grinned.

"Wow" Kadaj muttered

"Wow" Tseng agreed, he looked at Chaos with new respect, "please tell Vincent I'm sorry"

"Tell him yourself, he wants out" Chaos saluted casually and a red glow surrounded him, Vincent appeared in the middle of it and shook his head slightly, Kadaj run up and hugged him tightly. Vincent flinched startled as Yazoo and Loz joined in, then he relaxed and hugged them back burying his face in their silver hair.

"Did Chaos tell you?" he muttered and Yazoo looked up with an anxious expression

"If you stopped her, would we be here?"

Vincent thought for a moment then replied "if I had stopped her Sephiroth would have been my son"

"What did you say Valentine?" Sephiroth stepped into the room, his eyes blazing, his sword dripping with blood.

* * *

Sephiroth glared at everyone in the room, how dare they learn about his birth, who gave them the right especially Tseng, he was lucky to be alive in Sephiroth's opinion. He could have get killed him and gotten away but oh no a stupid sense of guilt had stayed his hand, it might not now.

"Why did you tell them?" his voice was deathly calm, Kadaj who had heard that voice in his head many times before whimpered and buried his face in Yazoo chest. Vincent met his gaze steadily and there was a flicker of longing in his eyes, Sephiroth felt his hand trembling around Masamune's hilt. "Why did you _tell _them?" he asked again.

"They had a right to know" Vincent's voice was very steady considering Sephiroth eyes were burning with the madness; he had seen so many times before. "After all they are your brothers"

"Yes but what about him!" Sephiroth hissed, swinging Masamune towards the horrified Turk who scrambled out of the way and hid behind the sofa. Vincent shrugged

"He is a Turk and it's more my story than yours, you became tangled along with mine"

Sephiroth growled angrily and Loz started crying softly, Vincent moved protectively in front of him and glared at Sephiroth "Lucrecia wouldn't want you to"

"She never wanted me!" Sephiroth interrupted wildly and swung Masamune towards Vincent, Yazoo steeped in front of him and blocked the sword with his velvet nightmare, he stared desperately into Sephiroth's eyes

"Brother…please" he turned to Vincent with a wild expression "just tell him!"

"Tell him what?" Vincent was trying his hardest to look confused

"What you've been hiding from him since we got here, please Vincent!"

"Tell me what?" Sephiroth growled and knocked Yazoo aside, Vincent snarled and his eyes glowed, Sephiroth blinked in surprise then held Masamune against Vincent throat.

"That I am basically your father" Vincent said calmly and closed his eyes expecting death to claim him as its own, he was surprised when the pressure at his throat vanished and when he opened his eyes he saw Sephiroth on the floor. "What just happened?" he asked to no one in particular.

Kadaj looked up at him from where he was crouched beside Sephiroth and grinned "he fainted"

sorry Tseng lovers i kind of made him a bit of a wimp

and sorry to Sephiroth lovers it had to be done

untill next time


	16. Chapter 16

Alive again

chapter 16 together at last

A/N: thanks to everyone who's been reviewing

**Disclaimer: **i do not own final fantasy or the song Whiskey Lullaby

* * *

_He's my father?_

_No that can't be right, it was Hojo, my father is Hojo. Though he never acted like a father, he hardly ever called me by my name; it was always boy, or you. He often hit me as well, _

_No… Hojo may not have been a good father but he was my father wasn't he?_

_But Vincent… he's different, he actually acted like he cared when I was ill and he saved me when most would have left me to die, that was risky, for all he knew I could've still had Jenova's influence. And he held me, Hojo never did that, does Vincent really love me?_

Sephiroth stirred and opened his eyes; he looked towards the window and saw a slowly darkening sky, _how long was I unconscious?_

He sat up and put his head in his hands "maybe it would have been better if I had just stayed dead" he muttered then spotted a note lying on the bedside table. He picked it up and opened it, written in an elegant script

_Sephiroth_

_Sorry I had to tell you this way, I wanted to tell you privately but the circumstances forced me to reveal what I shouldn't of hidden, I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you. But as I couldn't defend your mother it made me feel that I could never defend you. And how could I Sephiroth? You are not threatened by anyone but yourself and how could I protect you from that? I'm sorry I never helped you when you were younger, I'm not sure if you can remember back to the days when Hojo experimented on you but I was there, and even if I only had fleeting glances of you. It made me happy to watch you grow up._

_And now look at you, the legendary SOILDER, the man in the black cape and the one winged angel; I can't say I'm not proud of what you have accomplished although most of it wasn't for good. But enough of this, I expect you'll want to hear about your mother._

_What can I say; I loved Lucrecia more than life itself and for me to describe her would take several pages, I'll just say this you have her way of playing with her hair, you have her smile and most importantly in my opinion her eyes. Through you Sephiroth I can see her and you don't know how much that has helped me._

_Your father Vincent Valentine_

_P.S it appears that Tseng has forgiven you, he watched you for three hours._

Sephiroth put the note down and closed his eyes, he longed for memories of his mother instead of the hazy memories of Mako and Hojo's face leering at him.

"Brother, are you awake?" Yazoo slipped into the room and sat down beside him the bed "are you well?" he asked quietly and Sephiroth sighed

"Will we ever have a normal life?"

Yazoo shook his head "I don't think that kind of happiness is given to people like us" he paused then smiled "but we get along"

"As we always do, I…I don't think I ever really had a normal life to begin with"

"We didn't, but we had moments when it like we were just another ordinary family" Yazoo closed his eyes "and now you're well again, we can be"

"I don't know anything about you"

Yazoo opened his eyes in surprise "but I'm a part of you"

"Yes but I don't know you as an individual, what are your interests? What do you like doing the best? The list is endless"

Yazoo grinned and leaned against him "well, I love spending time with my family because of the sense of belonging I get, I like reading, art and" he paused then went on "I like singing too"

"Sing Yazoo" Sephiroth said and the door opened again as Kadaj and Loz came in

"We couldn't sleep" Kadaj explained then sat down on Sephiroth's other side, Loz leaned against Yazoo and closed his eyes

"Sing Yazoo"

Yazoo thought for a moment then took a deep breath "this song is quite sad but I enjoyed listening to it"

_She put him out, like the burning end of a midnight cigarette._

_She broke his heart_

_He spend his whole life trying to forget_

_We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time_

_But he never could get drunk enough to get her from his mind_

_Until the night_

_He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away her memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength he had to get up off his knees_

_We found with him with his face down in the pillow_

_And note that said I'll love her till I die_

_And when we buried him beneath the willow_

_The angels sang a whisky lullaby._

Sephiroth shook himself; as much as he loved Yazoo's voice the song was bringing back unwanted memories "Genesis was like that once"

"Was he?" Kadaj asked and sat back to look up at Sephiroth, he nodded and leaned back against the wall

"He had fallen in love with this girl but she was just using him, me and Angeal tried to warn him when he went to propose but he wouldn't be stopped, but Genesis always has been stubborn"

Loz opened his mouth and Kadaj quickly cut in "what happened?"

"She rejected him cruelly in front of everyone and broke his heart, it took him three years before he let go and one of those years was spend trying to stop him from killing himself with whiskey"

"Do you want me to stop?" Yazoo asked quietly and Sephiroth shook his head

"I can keep my emotions in check and besides I don't think our brothers would forgive me if I made you stop now"

"Too right" Kadaj grumbled then settled back against Sephiroth as Yazoo started singing again

_The rumours flew_

_But nobody knew how much she blamed her self _

_For years and years_

_She tried to hide the whiskey on her breath_

_She finally drank her pain away a little at a time_

_But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind_

_Until the night_

_She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away his memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength she had to get up off her knees_

_We found her with her face down in the pillow_

_Clinging to his picture for dear life_

_We laid her next to him beneath the willow _

_While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby._

Yazoo stopped singing and smiled to himself, they were all asleep; he leaned back and pressed his face into Sephiroth's chest, as he listened to the slow heartbeat he sighed and wished that they could all stay together like this forever.

* * *

Tseng smiled as he looked at a picture of Cloud and Zack together, it was weird how Cloud didn't realise before what a perfect life he had, he had friends who adored him and a family that loved him and now that Kadaj and his gang were added to the family it seemed he would be more loved than ever. But no…

He set down the picture and frowned around the empty room, he felt at home here now and even felt that Cloud and his mixed up family were friends to him, when had that happened?

"When Sephiroth saved my life instead of threatening it" he said aloud and a low chuckle met his ears

"Will he save you again I wonder?"

Tseng didn't turn round "so he didn't kill you then"

"No, surprising isn't it?" Genesis stepped out from the shadows and stood behind him "you'd have thought he would" he purred

"Why are you here Genesis?" Tseng snarled and Genesis hissed angrily

"You injured me Turk!" he spat and Tseng turned to find him in a sorry state, his coat was ripped and frayed at the edges, his hair was dark with congealed blood and two long cuts were slashed into his cheek. What was more noticeable was his wing that was hanging limply and was bent the wrong way.

Tseng was nonplussed "I only broke your wing, the rest was Sephiroth"

"You're to blame though, he only did it to cover your escape" Genesis held up his rapier and ran his hand down the blade "no matter, I can get rid of you easily enough"

"What do you want Genesis?"

Genesis smirked "my soul corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment to find the end of the journey. In my own salvation and your internal slumber" he smiled nastily and started towards Tseng when a large grey hand clasped his throat.

"Playing games Genesis?" the demon breathed in his ear "I know quite a few games myself though you won't like them" he threw Genesis onto the floor where he lay in a crumpled heap.

Chaos grinned and slowly licked his fangs "Vincent doesn't drink blood; however I don't have morals so…" he left an agonizing pause as Genesis staggered to his feet

"Fine, I won't hurt the Turk" he muttered and Chaos patted his head like he would do to a dog

"Good boy" he purred then his form melted back to Vincent "and make sure it stays that way"

Genesis looked from him to Tseng and sank to the floor "I give up" he moaned "do what the heck you want, I can't be asked anymore"

"I think Yazoo would like to see you" Tseng said thoughtfully then smiled as the sounds of singing drifted down to him "shouldn't be a problem, you'll fit right in"

"Ha ha" Genesis muttered sarcastically and dragged himself upstairs

* * *

things are start to look up at last for them

Yay isn't that a relief i'll make it funnier now all the complicated bits are done for the moment

thanks again all of you


	17. Chapter 17

Alive again

A/N: my god i'm so sorry for the long wait, GCSEs are a real pain though that's not a very good excuse, once again i'm really sorry :(

disclaimer: i don't own final fantasy (as you all know) i only own this fic

* * *

"Where is everyone?"

Yazoo looked over at Tseng and frowned slightly "what do you mean?"

"I mean the other Turks; surely they would have at least come round to investigate" he sighed and rested his chin in his hands.

"Maybe they came round earlier?" Yazoo suggested uncertainly "I didn't hear anything though"

"Where's Sephiroth?"

"Sleeping in, he's still kind of sick"

"Nothing too serious I hope"

Yazoo smiled slightly "no, it's just from fighting Genesis" he tilted his head and stared up at the ceiling "he's continuing to be difficult"

"And what are you going to do about it?"

Yazoo smirked "something..."

A yawn made them both turn round to see Kadaj standing on the stairs "do you know where Tifa keeps her makeup?" he asked sleepily and stretched sleepily.

"Excuse me?" Yazoo's gaze moved from the ceiling down to Kadaj, there was an amused light dancing in his eyes.

Kadaj flushed angrily "not for me! I'm going to make up Genesis"

"Why him Kadaj? I'm going to do something to him"

"Tough luck" Kadaj childishly stuck out his tongue at Yazoo who sighed then grabbed Kadaj's collar and shoved him against the wall.

"Listen little brother, you are not in charge of us anymore" he smiled sweetly and tightened his grip "so don't tell us what we can and can't do okay?"

Kadaj squirmed in his grasp and glared at him "no way! And get off me!" Yazoo didn't know how close he was to getting a Limit break thrown at him.

"Fine then" Yazoo released him and stepped back smiling horribly "but be prepared to face the consequences" with that said he turned and strolled up the stairs.

"Did you know you're glowing?" Tseng said carefully

Kadaj looked down and noticed small grey flames covering most of his body "oh" he concentrated and the flames disappeared "I hate it when Yazoo gets like that"

Tseng smiled "you take after Sephiroth; he has a short temper too"

Kadaj shot him a wounded look "I don't know if I should be pleased or not"

"Possibly neither, it's good to be your own person but it's also good to have traits from your siblings"

"But we're supposed to be like that, we're his Remnants"

A secretive smile flitted across Tseng's face "maybe" he said quietly and followed Yazoo up the stairs.

Kadaj lay down on the sofa and leaned his head on the armrest, it was confusing now. He was no longer in control and he could have a civil conversation with Tseng without wanting to kill him for some reason or another. When had that changed? Was he adapting to family life?

"Hey Kadaj"

He looked up; Tifa was smiling down at him her hands on her hips. He sat up slightly "hi Tifa"

"Now what's this about wanting my makeup hmm?"

Kadaj flushed "nothing! I don't really want it"

"I thought so" she sat down sat to him "how are you coping? With all this I mean"

He shrugged "it's more complicated than I thought it would be, I thought that I would find my brothers and Cloud and that we would all be happy together"

"But you are all happy"

"I don't know…it's…it's weird"

"Living with the hero of Gaia is pretty strange isn't it? But you guys have it easy you know, Cloud has been a lot more open since you came here, you've made him come out of his shell"

"He is sort of a loner" Kadaj reflected and Tifa nodded seriously

"After he caught Geostigma he isolated himself from us and lived in Aerith's church, you know the one…"

Kadaj picked up on her unspoken words easily "yeah" he said gloomily "the one I almost destroyed"

"Don't think of it like that, if you hadn't destroyed part of it, Cloud still might have Geostigma now. In the end you helped save all those children" she smiled reassuringly at him and gave him a hug. "You're not a bad person Kadaj" she whispered into his hair "you and your brothers are some of the best people I've met"

"I don't believe you, my brothers and I almost killed Cloud on several occasions and Sephiroth killed one of your best friends, we have no goodness left!" he pulled himself roughly out of her embrace.

Tifa bit her lip as she stared at him "oh Kadaj, you can't really think that"

"I can and I do" he turned away from her and buried his head in the armrest.

Tifa reached a hand out towards him then decided against it and left the room silently.

Kadaj let out a weary sigh "we are monsters" he muttered and closed his eyes "we have neither happiness nor goodness"

* * *

"What's up with Kadaj?" a strong but surprising gentle hand grasped Tifa's arm, she gazed into cold blue eyes.

"He's got the blues, go and cheer him up Genesis he won't let me"

"What's wrong with him? I can't cheer him up if I don't know the cause"

"Oh…he thinks that he's a monster"

Genesis felt a chill run down his spine; maybe the boy would be scarred like them. He released his grip on Tifa "is Sephiroth awake?"

"Maybe, I don't know"

Genesis was already past her before she finished speaking and was running towards Sephiroth's room; he knocked politely on the door and waited for a reply. Then there was none he slipped inside and closed the door behind him, he was going to talk with Sephiroth if he liked it or not.

"Seph" he called softly, the room was very dark and even with Mako enhancements he found it hard to see. A faint blur a movement caught his eye and he brought up his rapier to met Masamune as it swung towards his throat.

"Genesis"

"Sephiroth" Genesis waited for him to lower his sword first, you could never be sure around Sephiroth.

"You don't trust me?"

"You did do this" Genesis tapped the scars on his cheek "and other things before that"

"True, but you did threaten me" Sephiroth lowered his sword and rested it against the wall carefully "why did you come to see me Genesis? I'm forced to admit you nearly got the better of me during our last fight"

"Indeed but that's not what I came to talk to you about" he sat down on the bed and motioned for Sephiroth to do the same "it's about your youngest brother and your past I wish to speak of"

Sephiroth's eyes glowed brightly in the darkness as they narrowed "what about my past?"

"Your time in the labs, in the Shinra Manor"

"What has that got to do with Kadaj?"

"He's displaying symptoms"

"Tell me"

Genesis quickly explained what he had overhead and what he had seen, Sephiroth's eyes narrowed into slits as he recognised what was wrong.

"Am I right?"

"You are, it will happen soon"

Genesis stood up and turned to go but Sephiroth's hand caught his sleeve "tell me Genesis, did this happen to you after the accident"

Genesis felt a surge of pity for Sephiroth who still felt guilty for his actions long ago for it was the first time he lost control of his senses. "Yes" he moved to the door and paused before he slipped out "but it was never your fault"

* * *

yay i finally did it! i had writers block as well as GCSEs so it was kind of annoying

anyways until next time


	18. Chapter 18

Alive Again

A/N: hiya, i've got my plot bunny back! so expect quicker updates hopefully

Disclaimer:i don't own final fantasy VII only this fic is mine (unfortunatley)

* * *

"Yo"

Kadaj openly glared at the Turk and folded his arms "what do _you_ want Reno?"

"I want to know how Tseng is; Turks don't abandon other Turks you know"

"Oh really, well you see the thing is you haven't bothered to see him before now so I doubt you really do care" he made to slam the door in Reno's face when it was quickly blocked by Cloud's foot.

"That's enough Kadaj, go and help Yazoo upstairs with Marlene"

Kadaj glared at him then turned on his heel and stalked upstairs, muttered threats.

"What pulled his chain?" Reno asked and stepped inside carefully, Cloud smiled slightly

"Mood swings, extreme mood swings" he gestured for Reno to sit down and turned away from him slightly "why are you here Reno?"

"I told you, I wanted to see Tseng"

"If you wanted to check up on him you would have come after Kadaj and Loz when they brought him here, so why are you really here?"

Reno sighed "okay Strife you got me, Rufus wants Sephiroth"

"What for?"

Reno sighed again "what do you think for? They want to do tests on him again to see why he came back"

Cloud immediately stiffened "and you know that's not going to happen"

"Yes" Reno rested his chin on his hands "but my orders are to take either him or one of his Remnants back with me"

"Or what?"

"Or, I'm out of the job" Reno looked up and gazed evenly at Cloud "you see what kind of mess I'm stuck in, I don't want them to do tests on Sephiroth, he's only just got his sanity back and this could push him back over the edge"

"Hmm" Cloud turned away and hung his head "what are you going to do about it Reno?"

"I don't know" Reno leaned back and closed his eyes "I want to stay loyal to Shinra" he watched as Cloud turned sharply and chuckled weakly "but I don't want to give any of you up"

"Maybe Chaos should pay them a surprise visit" Cloud muttered then looked over at Reno "what should we do?"

"What's wrong?"

Cloud almost smirked, Yazoo was standing on the stairs, his large eyes were wide and innocent. "Nothing Yazoo, Reno just came over for a chat"

"Really? I heard things about Rufus"

Cloud watched Yazoo carefully; the Remnant was using all his inherited traits from Sephiroth to hypnotise Reno, he tilted his head and spotted Yazoo's Velvet nightmare carefully hidden in its holster, hopefully it wouldn't come to a fight.

"Rufus? No I didn't say anything about Rufus" Reno suddenly looked very nervous, Cloud followed his gaze and saw Kadaj and Loz standing next to Yazoo, all their eyes were glowing.

"I think you should go now Reno" Kadaj said firmly and a ghost of a smile flickered across his face.

Reno tripped over his feet in his rush to get out the door, when it closed behind him Loz started laughing "did you see his face?" he gasped and bent over trying to contain his laughter.

Yazoo looked troubled "that won't be the last we see of him, we have to be ready if Shinra decide to take us by force"

"Well, they'll have to try harder than that" Kadaj turned and went back upstairs, Loz watched him go anxiously

"Is something wrong with Kadaj?"

"I don't think so" Cloud rested his hand on Loz's shoulder "I'm sure he's fine"

* * *

"He's not fine"

"What! Are you sure?"

Sephiroth leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes "expect a lot of depression from him for a while, then a lot of pain. It's not an easy thing to go through"

"He's right" Genesis raised his head and smirked at Cloud "he went through it first"

"What happens?"

"It develops from birth" Sephiroth said quietly opening his eyes "then slowly grows along with the individual, Genesis is an example of when the process is sped up, it was harder for him to adapt since his just suddenly grew"

"And yours?"

"Since I was a child"

Cloud frowned and put his head on one side "how did you hide it for so long"

Sephiroth's expression darkened "I didn't know it was there until Zack asked about it" he shrugged off his coat and turned exposing his back to Cloud "he saw the mark and thought it was a scar"

Cloud stared; the mark was like a scar but it seemed different, maybe it was the way the light shone onto it, making patterns on his pale skin.

"The feathers sometimes show through" Sephiroth explained as he noticed Cloud's expression.

Genesis grinned and grabbed Cloud's hand placing it on Sephiroth's back, Sephiroth flinched in surprise and part of his wing slid out of the mark.

"Sorry Seph" Genesis purred "but Strife had to see what happens"

"Is that how Zack found out?"

"Yes" Sephiroth relaxed and allowed his wing to slide out completely, Cloud gently ran his hand over the black feathers, Sephiroth must have trusted him fully to allow him to even look at his wing properly let alone touch it.

Genesis had a rather smug expression "so you finally let someone in after Zack Seph, I'm impressed"

Sephiroth glared at him then his shoulders slumped "he was…one of my best friends, I can never forgive myself for what I did to him"

Cloud rested his hand comfortingly on Sephiroth back and felt the small movements of his breathing, even if he was stricken with pain the rate of his breathing never changed. "I miss him too" he muttered quietly so only Sephiroth could hear.

Sephiroth gave no sign that he heard but he turned his head slightly and met Cloud's gaze. His eyes were slightly glazed.

"I still, can't forgive myself"

"I wanted to help him" Cloud cut in "I wanted to help him fight…but"

"There was nothing you could do" Sephiroth's voice had gone cold and hard, his eyes lost the glazed look and slipped back into an emotionless mask. "it was his time to die" he turned away and stood by the window gazing out at the people outside.

Genesis stepped forwards "we'd better leave him alone" he gently led Cloud out and glanced back, Sephiroth's shoulders were shaking.

* * *

poor Sephiroth, well Zack had to turn up in conversation sometime

Reno may come back, he's stubborn so expect to see more him

see you next time :)


	19. Chapter 19

Alive Again

A/N: i'm back again, god you must be getting sick of me, anyways here it is.

to DamonWesker i will try out your idea, i haven't done any Yaoi since i'm not very good at writing it, but i'll give it a go since Reno and Kadaj pairing really do work ,yeah i looked them up so shot me ;)

* * *

_Busted_ Reno thought gloomily and kept his eyes on the floor "I tried boss but they surrounded me" it was a bad excuse and he knew it.

Rufus sighed and rubbed his temples absentmindedly "I really can't deal with this now Reno, you're excused for now, at least until I sort this out"

Reno bowed his head respectfully then dashed out the office, _that was close, too close I need to get one of them there, but I don't want to see them experimented on, god knows how many times they've been tested._

He ran out into the streets ignoring the half hearted curses people threw at him as he ran past them, where could he go? He only had one option but he didn't want to go there, to admit he needed help stung his pride but what else could he do? Sooner or later Rufus would realise that Reno wasn't going deliver and he would start braying for his blood.

With a sigh he slipped into 7th Heaven and sank onto one of the bar stools.

"Reno, what are you doing here?"

He didn't look up as Tifa handed him a drink, he hoped it was strong "Rufus kicked me out for a while" he said lamely trying hard to appear relaxed and casual "got into trouble again"

Tifa laughed "When are you not in trouble Reno?"

"Not often" he kept his eyes firmly on his glass and listened as Tifa moved away to clean some glasses.

"You know Reno we're closed for the day"

"Why? It's not even noon"

"Kadaj is being temperamental, didn't want to risk any costumers coming in to one of his fits"

Reno finally looked up at her; she looked very tired "so how come you let me in?"

"You looked pretty desperate" she smiled at him warmly "we help people Reno we don't block them out"

"You guys really care huh?" Reno lifted his glass and stared thoughtfully into it, Tifa grinned

"No one else would if we didn't"

It was true, if you were ever in trouble or just wanted to go somewhere for friendly company, Strife and his lot were happy enough to help you every time.

"So Reno, I heard Shinra wants us" Genesis slipped into the bar and sat on the stool next to Reno with a smirk "I guess Rufus wasn't happy huh?"

Reno winced; _insult to injury_ he thought then shrugged "not really he's too busy to bother with punishments now"

"So until then?"

"Until then I'm keeping my head low so he won't notice I'm there" _why the hell am I talking to Genesis of all people?_

"I'm annoying easy to talk to Turk, people always tell the truth around"

"Oh"

Genesis smiled, it was genuine this time "it's nothing to be ashamed of Reno, secrets shouldn't always be kept hidden"

"Oh"

Genesis smiled again and stood up "I'll see how Kadaj is"

Before he went out Reno quickly asked "what's wrong with Kadaj?"

"Growing pains" Genesis quipped and disappeared up the stairs.

Reno was left wondering what the hell he was talking about.

* * *

"Go away Loz" Kadaj moaned into his pillow and rolled over turning his face away from his brother.

Loz sat on the end of his bed "I won't go away Kadaj, not till you say what's wrong"

"Nothing's wrong, now go away!"

"You're lying Kadaj! Tifa said you shouldn't lie!"

"SHUT UP!" Kadaj launched himself at Loz and knocked him to the floor, Loz normally would have enjoyed this game but it was too unexpected, his fist connected with Kadaj's jaw and the force of his punch threw Kadaj across room where he landed in a heap.

Loz sat up and stared helplessly at Kadaj "Kadaj? Wake up brother please!" he ran over to him and shook his shoulders "brother…"

"Leave me alone Loz" Kadaj sat up and glared at Loz "just leave me alone before I make you"

Loz fled from the room sobbing like a child.

Kadaj watched him go and there was no pity in his eyes, he crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over his head, why could they just leave him alone? He deserved it after all he had been through, and now that he now longer had control over his brothers he felt even more insecure and frightened than before, at least before he could hide behind mother's will and keep to the tasks she set them. But now she was gone and he had no one to guide him. With a mournful keen he buried his face in the pillow, his head felt like it was splitting open.

"Kadaj"

He growled threateningly at the intruder who laughed softly

"Can I come in?"

That made him pause, he lifted his head slightly "who is it?"

"Vincent"

Kadaj felt him sit on the edge of the bed "what do you want?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you" he placed his hand on Kadaj's arm from where it stuck out from under the covers "so can I?"

Kadaj reluctantly withdrew from the covers and sat up "_happy_ now?" he snapped

"Yes" Vincent motioned for Kadaj to sit next to him; Kadaj ignored him and folded his arms.

"If this is about Loz"

"It's about you, you haven't been yourself recently" he watched patiently as Kadaj's face became impassive "you don't have to say, but speaking from experience it's better to talk about what's troubling you"

"What's troubling me" Kadaj's voice was unusually calm and composed; Vincent recognised the danger sign and kept his hand on Cerberus.

"You don't have to tell me" he said soothingly and Kadaj laughed mirthlessly

"What's wrong with me? I'm a monster that's what's wrong" he lay back down and pulled the covers over his head.

Vincent stayed silent, he made no attempt to try and comfort the teen as there were no words to help him, what could he say? After all he was as much as a monster as Kadaj considered himself to be, you can't easily change your opinion of yourself after all. He sighed quietly and hopped his presence would be enough to calm Kadaj down at least.

"How is he?"

Vincent met Sephiroth's gaze "not good"

Sephiroth walked over and placed his hand near Kadaj's back, Kadaj arched his spine and whimpered. Sephiroth hushed him and moved his hand over to his right shoulder. The Remnant hissed and sat up quickly.

"Get off brother!"

Sephiroth gave him a sympathetic smile "I know it's hard"

Kadaj blinked "what?"

"I know what you're going through" he put his hand on Kadaj's shoulder "it's alright" he turned to Vincent "could you leave us for a second father?"

Vincent smiled "of course" he went out and closed the door softly behind him.

Sephiroth gazed into his brother's eyes and touched his shoulder "I know it hurts" he said softly "every part of your back hurts doesn't it?"

"Yes" Kadaj looked down ashamed "I thought it was nothing"

"Let me see"

Kadaj pulled off the black shirt he was wearing and turned so Sephiroth could see; the skin on his right shoulder looked sore and inflamed. He put his hand lightly on Kadaj's shoulder blade and gently ran his hand down his back, the wing bones had only just started to form there and they felt very delicate. Sephiroth smirked slightly, it seemed weird to him any part of Kadaj would seem delicate.

"The bones are forming well, try not to move around to much, the bones are delicate and when they are fully formed they may become your weak point" he sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall closing his eyes.

Kadaj gazed at him curiously "what are you doing brother?"

Sephiroth opened one eye lazily "it would be more comfortable for you to lean on me if you intended to rest, when my wing first came out I was in agony for some time until Zack let me lean on him"

Kadaj nodded, he had met Zack while in the Lifestream "was he your best friend?"

Sephiroth closed his eye again "yes" he said finally "yes Zack was my best friend, he was like a brother to me"

"Maybe he'll come back, we did" Kadaj settled himself against Sephiroth and yawned.

Sephiroth shook his head and stroked Kadaj's hair "the planet needs him more than we do Kadaj" he watched Kadaj's breathing slow as he drifted asleep and ran his hand over the newly forming bones. "Just wait till you learn how to fly" he whispered in the Remnant's ear and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of his own breathing.

"What's going on here Yo?"

Sephiroth's eyes shot open and he glared at Reno "what are you doing here?"

"Boss kicked me out for a while" Reno sat on the edge of the bed and smirked "what's up with him, Genesis said it was growing pains"

Sephiroth scowled and made a metal note to kill him sometime soon, why Genesis felt compelled to talk to this Turk he would never know. "Yes" he shifted position so Kadaj was shielded slightly. "It's his back"

"What's wrong with it?"

Reno's curiosity was starting to get on his nerves now, maybe he would shut up if he just showed him, with a sigh Sephiroth gently moved Kadaj so his back was facing Reno.

The Turk gasped in surprise "what's happening to him?" he breathed, he was both horrified and fascinated by change happening to Kadaj.

"He's growing a wing"

"Like yours?"

"Yes" Sephiroth wondered how he knew about that but didn't ask, he had better things to do than ask an irritating Turk questions.

"Well how about that?" Reno sat back with the air of someone who was going to be staying a while.

Sephiroth resisted the urge to groan and closed his eyes, maybe if he ignored the Turk he would go away.

* * *

yay Reno's being annoying!

but Seph likes him really so he'll let him stay there for now.


	20. Chapter 20

Alive again

A/N wow i'm updating regularly, don't just used to it! it might not last lols ;D

disclaimer: as you all know, if you bother to read these i only own this fic, final fantasy VII is not mine :(

* * *

One thing Tseng was not expecting to find was Reno, but he found him curled up next to Sephiroth on Kadaj's bed with the Remnant himself leaning on him with a smug expression. "Feeling better Tseng?"

Tseng's mouth dropped open, not many things surprised him but this was just unexpected, after he recovered slightly from the shock he asked "what's he doing here?"

"Rufus kicked him out temporarily" Kadaj smirked then pushed Reno off the bed "wake up Turk!" he sang as Reno yelped and clutched his head "someone's here to see you"

Reno grinned sheepishly up at Tseng "hi Tseng…long time no see"

"Outside now" Tseng stalked out the room and waited for Reno to come out, when he did the red head found himself shoved up against a wall "why are you here Reno?"

Reno swallowed nervously "Rufus kicked me out"

Tseng glared at him angrily "even if he kicked you out you should have stayed until he decided what to do" he roughly shook the Turk "why did you come here!" he yelled.

"Because I don't know what to do!" Reno yelled back the slumped to the floor his head in his hands, it looked like he was sobbing. Tseng knelt down with a sigh

"Look Reno, I'm sorry but why did Rufus kick you out?"

"Because he wants me to bring Sephiroth, Genesis and the Remnants back to Shinra for tests and I can't let them do that" he looked up and fortunately he wasn't crying " I can't do it Tseng" he moaned "it's not right"

"That's the bad thing about being a Turk" Tseng said softly.

Reno laughed bitterly "yeah we get the crap jobs no one else wants" he looked straight at Tseng "I did the right thing didn't I? By not handing them over….shit I couldn't even if I wanted to. Sephiroth would kill me before I took two steps forward" he laughed shakily then shook his head "I must have hit it harder than I thought" he muttered "I don't often come out with big speeches like that"

"You should do them more often, then Rufus might leave you alone" Tseng stood up and offered Reno his hand, Reno got up and brushed off his shirt

"I did do the right thing though" he looked pleadingly at Tseng who hesitated for a moment.

"I don't know anymore, I don't know if we should follow orders so blindly anymore, look what happened to Zack" he spoke the name carelessly as if it were just there to be made an example of, but he missed Zack terribly and he was never too far away from his thoughts.

"What shall I tell him then?"

"That you and I both refuse to bring in Sephiroth and the others unless they wish to come"

"Thanks Tseng" Reno turned to go then paused "hey I'm sorry I couldn't help you before..."

Tseng frowned slightly "why weren't you there?"

Reno laughed nervously "I thought you could handle it considering Sephiroth was weak, you know"

"No I don't" his hand went to his chest and stomach where the bandages were still tightly wrapped and winced "but thank you Reno"

"For what?"

"For actually listening for once, now get out of here"

Reno saluted casually with a grin then strode outside whistling.

"He's too cheerful"

Tseng smiled "yes, he makes my office a living hell sometimes" he turned and winced "what happened?"

"Chaos thought it would be fun to ambush me then get me to take part in a drinking contest" Genesis shuddered and clutched his head "I didn't realise that demon's metabolisms were stronger than ours"

"How bad?" Tseng asked sympathetically, he had had the same experience with Reno on many occasions.

"Let's just say the walls are spinning"

"Sleep it off" Tseng suggested he pointed towards Kadaj's room "they won't mind I'm sure"

He watched with amusement as Genesis dragged himself into the room and smiled, it was just another ordinary day.

* * *

_That was fun_

Shut up Chaos, my head hurts enough without you yelling in it

_I'm talking normally, and you've got to admit that was funny._

No it wasn't it was disturbing.

Vincent shuddered as hazy memories swirled around in his head; at least he hadn't been in control.

He winced as the stairs creaked and Kadaj came in view "hello Kadaj"

Kadaj snarled at him and threw himself onto a barstool.

_What pulled his chain?_

Chaos

_What?_

Vincent raised an eyebrow "what's wrong?"

"My back is killing me" Kadaj growled and glared at the counter

"You're not dead yet so I think it's safe to assume you're not going to die"

"No flipping wisecracks now father I'm not in the mood"

"Let me see"

Kadaj scowled and lifted his shirt revealing the inflamed skin; Vincent frowned then stood up and went into the kitchen picking up a washcloth and bandages. With a sigh he ran the cloth under the cold tap then went back to Kadaj. "I have no idea if this will hurt you or not but I'll be as gentle as possible" he pressed the cloth to Kadaj's back and waited for a reaction, when there was none he gently bathed the swollen skin then wrapped several bandages around Kadaj back.

_That will help him Vincent; you must have a knack for these things_

Thank Chaos

Vincent sat back "that will help with the pain but your brother will probably kill me for covering it up"

"Do you know why Sephiroth only has one wing?"

"You need to ask him that yourself, it's not my place to say" he made a note to tell Sephiroth later on and smiled at the Remnant.

* * *

**warning for the next chapter:** it's going to be depressing sorry folks i'll explain why when i upload it :)


	21. Chapter 21

Alive again

A/N: i'd better explain this chapter, if it goes off the plot slightly i'm sorry but that's what listening to awesome music does, anyway this whole chapter was written while listening to something called _Dark Night Of The Soul_ by Philip Wesley.(i'd advise listening to it. It's a beautiful piece of music) this piece of music just screamed Sephiroth and his slow descent into madness at me, so i wrote a chater mostly about him, yay for the music!

disclaimer: does anyone bother to read this, oh well i do not own final fantasy VII i only own this fic

* * *

_Zack… I wish_

Sephiroth shook his head, wishing was for fools it never amounted to anything, after Nibelheim he had wished for the torment to stop and for the Lifestream to swallow him up. But fate had never been kind to him, was it because he was Jenova's spawn? Just a puppet for her will?

"Am I human? Or just a monster?" all his old doubts had come back swirling through his mind and clouding his senses, was it just nerves or something else? Was Jenova taking over again? He knocked the back of his head gently against the wall shivering as the damp began to soak his hair. Thoughts of Jenova must have been lingering as he had taken to spending more time in the basement than upstairs. Chaos seemed to accept his need and allowed him to go in whenever he wanted but it was more Vincent's place than Chaos's, yes it was dark and cold and traces of the demon lingered where he had paused to rub his scent onto one of the walls. But there was a coffin pushed up against one of the walls, it seemed Vincent had gotten used to the cold and dark.

"We are alike" he said aloud "we do not fear the darkness" he himself had long ago accepted that maybe he would never be free of Jenova, some days he embraced the thought of having no control over his actions and being blissfully unaware while she played with his body and twisted his actions for her own amusement.

With a strangled growl he turned and slammed his fists into the stone wall "I'm not like her! I won't do those things again I won't!" Some distant rational part of his brain was telling him he was acting like a child but the call of madness too strong, he let himself go…

When he came back to his senses he found himself lying in a corner clutching the hilt of Masamune tightly, the blade felt cold and sharp on his forehead. He looked around and saw deep slashes cut into the stone; the door was practically hanging off its hinges. He was shivering violently and for some reason in his madness his wing had shot out of his back and hanging limply over his shoulder. With a shakily gasp he stood up and leaned against the wall, why was this happening again? He had been punished already for his actions by the Mako poisoning.

"Gaia….help me" with a cry he sank back to his knees hanging his head "why do you continue to torment me?" he lifted his hands and noticed wet patches seeping through his gloves, he must have beaten his hands against the wall repeatedly, even through the gloves he could tell that they had broken beyond recognition. Sephiroth tried to flex his hands but they were useless and clutched desperately onto Masamune's hilt as if it were the only thing saving him from drowning.

"Sephiroth"

He looked up almost pleadingly "help" he muttered weakly and closed his eyes slumping to the floor, he couldn't stay conscious for long, whatever he had done had exhausted him both physically and mentally. He felt hands lifting his face and voices speaking to him but they drifted out of focus.

* * *

"What do you think happened to him?" Cloud asked as he watched Chaos examine Sephiroth, after they had carried him upstairs he had done deathly quiet and had drifted in and out of nightmares.

"I can't say for sure" Chaos turned and faced Cloud, gazing at him seriously "I can only guess, understand?"

Cloud nodded and the demon went on "my guess is that he's suffering from trauma not surprising considering what he's been through, it was bound to happen sometime anyway" he prised Masamune out of Sephiroth grip and placed his hands over Sephiroth's. There was a horrible snapping sound as dislocated bones snapped back into place and healed themselves. Chaos smiled and removed his hands.

"How did you?" Cloud had never seen the demon heal someone before.

Chaos laughed, though it sounded more like a grating howl "have you ever wondered how Vincent is such a fast healer? Or how he can help other heal a lot faster than if they went to see a doctor? A small amount of my powers flows through him as well, just because I don't use them doesn't mean I don't have them"

"So will he be alright?"

Chaos smirked "feeling concerned Cloud?" he sobered up as he saw Cloud's expression "yes, it's just trauma, you went through it yourself"

"Yes but it took me years to recover"

The demon did not meet his gaze.

* * *

"What's happening down there Zack?" Aerith looked over Zack's shoulder into a small pool of water where images of Sephiroth, Chaos and Cloud could be seen.

Zack frowned and knelt down beside the pool to get a closer look "I'm not sure" he lied and kept his gaze fixed firmly on the water.

"Zack" Aerith gently touched his cheek then slid her arms around his shoulders.

Zack was reminded of the time he had sat crying in the church and she had done the exact same thing, not offering any words of comfort or sympathy, she had just been there and it had made the pain a little easier. He took a deep breath "I have to go see him Aerith"

"I know" she drew him closer to her and hugged him tightly "he needs you"

Zack looked down at the ground and stroked the petals of one of the flowers that grew everywhere in the field. "Just look at him Aerith; he thinks that he's going to lose everything again"

"And is he Zack?"

He turned and stared into her eyes; they were almost like Sephiroth's but more open and not as deep. Sephiroth hid his emotions in his eyes and he revealed them to those he trusted. Zack remembered feeling honoured to be counted as one of Sephiroth's friends. He had to see him again just like he had to see Cloud when he was fighting Sephiroth. "Will she let me though?" he asked and jerked his head towards the edge of the field where a lone figure was walking through the flowers.

"I'm sure she will, you're Sephiroth's friend too, not just Cloud's"

"Okay" Zack stood up and placed his sword onto his back "I won't be long"

"I know" he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fade.

* * *

if you didn't find it depressing, oh well, i'll stick more to my plot next time :)

i may write a different story inspired by Dark Night Of The Soul so look out for it


	22. Chapter 22

Alive again

disclaimer: why do i bother? you all know i don't own final fantasy VII

A/N: hehe sorry if you waited, i was stuck for ideas

* * *

"Sephiroth?" Kadaj knocked tentatively on the door then glanced back at his brothers and Vincent "what if he won't open the door?"

"Then we go in anyway" Yazoo said comfortingly and put his arm round Kadaj's shoulders gently "he needs us"

"Sephiroth" Vincent called softly then opened the door.

Like in the basement the room was in shambles, books were thrown about the room and long slashes were cut into the walls along with several scorch marks. Sephiroth himself was lying slumped against the wall, his body shook as several painful choking coughs forced their way out of him.

Vincent glanced at the Remnants and saw several different expressions, Loz was crying silently his face contorted with misery, Kadaj was scared and as he noticed Vincent looking at him he buried his face in his cloak, and Yazoo looked like his world had just come slowly crashing down around him.

"Brother" he whispered and blinked quickly, he wasn't going to let anyone know how much it hurt him.

Vincent gently removed Kadaj from his cloak and knelt down beside his eldest son. "Sephiroth" he said quietly "it's alright, I'm here"

Sephiroth shivered and Vincent stroked his hair soothingly then gently slipped his arms around him "I promise, it's alright, you're safe now"

Sephiroth whimpered and pressed himself close to Vincent "Zack" he moaned and closed his eyes shuddering violently.

"Zack?" Kadaj asked quickly as he tried to get Yazoo's attention, but his brother just stared down at Sephiroth with an expression Vincent couldn't read.

"He could be hallucinating" Vincent said carefully, not wanting to lie to them but not really wanting to tell the truth either. He lifted Sephiroth carefully and laid him on the bed where he lay still shaking slightly, "he'll need someone here all the time, just in cause"

Sephiroth's eyes opened slightly "don't leave"

"We're not going to" Loz said firmly and sat on the end of the bed like a guard.

"We're here brother" Kadaj sat down next to Loz and leaned against him watching over his elder brother.

"I…" Yazoo hesitated then shook his head backing away as a look of pain came over his face "I can't" he turned and fled the room.

Kadaj cast a helpless look towards Vincent "he doesn't like it when brother's sad"

"No one would like it" in an attempt to change the subject he asked "how's your back?"

"Better" he looked at Vincent curiously "will Loz and Yazoo get a wing too?"

"Most likely" Vincent paused before he went out the door and sighed "watch over him" he muttered then closed the door behind him.

* * *

"Genesis!"

"Hmm" Genesis looked up from LOVELESS and raised an eyebrow at Tseng "what do you want Tseng?"

"What's wrong with Sephiroth?"

The concerned expression on Tseng's face amused Genesis; he smirked and leaned forward slightly resting his chin in his hands "all I know is that he's going through some kind of trauma" he waved one hand to illustrate his ignorance "but nobody really filled me in on the details" he frowned sulkily "it's like they don't trust me"

"Why should they? You almost killed me, and caused Sephiroth's relapses"

"At least I was honest about it, I didn't have a petty plan for revenge, my reasons were pure and just" he noted with a smirk that he was only frustrating Tseng "oh and by the way, if you wanted to see him you'll have to wait until he's recovered somewhat"

"Is he sick again?" Tseng sounded horrified and Genesis almost laughed

"No, the Materia doesn't work on him anymore" he glowered at Tseng and leaned back with annoyed air "I've told you all I know"

"Why are you such a bastard?"

Genesis sat up straight, he was a little stunned by Tseng's question "I…"

He was thankfully interrupted as Yazoo ran into the room then disappeared down into the basement, he shrugged and went back to his book "teenagers" he wondered aloud "they never fail to amaze me"

"He was upset Genesis! Don't you have a heart?"

"My heart was claimed by fate long ago, she is cruel but there is no way to deny her. Just as my soul belongs to the Goddess" he stood and turned away from the Turk "when you find out your whole life's a lie then you'll understand" he looked back "then we can speak without conflict"

"I don't understand" Tseng said softly "you scorn those who reveal their emotions and shun those who try to empathize with you"

"Revealing your emotions is a sign of weakness" he said calmly then glared angrily at Tseng "and I don't need your pity" he faced Tseng and smiled darkly "what do you know? _Shinra lapdog_!" he swung his sword at Tseng who ducked and knocked Genesis to the floor, crying out as he landed heavily on his chest.

Genesis moaned "you idiot Tseng!" he lifted his head and frowned as he saw Tseng on his knees clutching his chest. "You should be more careful"

"One day" Tseng hissed threateningly "one day…I'll"

"You'll what?" Genesis interrupted "bleed on me" he gestured towards Tseng's suit where a small dark stain was spreading; Tseng cursed and pressed his hand to his chest.

A brief flicker of concern lingered in Genesis's eyes but he quickly masked it with a smirk "you think you've been through agony?" he pressed his sword to Tseng's throat "let me show you what real pain is like"

* * *

i'm sorry! i've made Genesis threaten Tseng, (Le gasp!) and i made Seph go all *struggles to find the right word and fails* i don't know but it's bad. i normally bow down to Sephiroth's greatness so i don't know where this came from. more developments on Kadaj wing growth in next chapter since my spy camera in 7th Heaven has been finally installed!

see ya next time :D


	23. Chapter 23

Alive again

Me: *shrieks* HAPPY BRITHDAY FOR YESTERDAY VINCENT!

Vincent: would you stop hugging me?

Me: nope

A/n: no coment for the conversation above

Disclaimer : i only own this fic *sobs* oh if Final Fantasy were mine i'd get a toy Moogle

* * *

"So what if it looks hopeless, if it were me I still wouldn't give up" Zack didn't look round, he felt Sephiroth's back pressed against his own "embrace your dreams and whatever happens protect your honour as SOLDIER"

"Zack…"

Zack closed his eyes briefly, he'd only heard Sephiroth sound so hopeless once before and that was before Jenova caused the Geostigma. He shook his head slightly; Seph had carried the weight of too many deaths on his shoulders, it was his turn to be forgiven. "Hi Seph" he said quietly

"I thought" Sephiroth let his voice trail away

"That I only came to see Cloud; you were my friend before him Seph and in your own way you were the one person who I could really talk to after Angeal" he glanced down at his sword and smiled "now Seph why did you want to see me?"

"I need your help"

"With who? Jenova?" he felt Sephiroth nod and shook his head slightly grinning "didn't Kadaj tell you? She's gone Seph you're free!"

"She's never gone" he moaned and hung his head "as long as her cells live in me, I'm never free"

Zack paused" as optimistic as ever Seph" he muttered, though he didn't want to admit it Sephiroth had a point "we can get rid of them Seph, I promise" he turned and put his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder "come on buddy, listen I know we can"

"I don't' deserve to be saved" he said coldly, Zack watched as he lifted his hands and stared at them "I'm just like her"

"Seph please"

"I need….help Zack; I don't want to be like her"

"You're so cold Seph" Zack said and frowned slightly "you're normally warm" his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers "that's it"

"What's it?"

"It's a sign, from Aerith"

At the sound of her name Sephiroth shuddered "please" he whispered "don't"

"She wants you to be closer to your friends Seph and to your family, especially your family" Zack glanced up and sighed "I've got to go now, but promise me you'll try"

"I'll try"

"Soldier's honour?"

A tiny smile touched the corners on Sephiroth's mouth "Soldier's honour"

"I'll be watching you; I'll come back when I've sorted out our Jenova problem"

* * *

"Hey Sephiroth, are you okay?"

Sephiroth opened his eyes and glared at Reno "why are you here?" he growled and sat up rubbing his eyes.

"I wanted to talk to Tseng"

"And the real reason is?"

Reno sighed "you're too perceptive, Rufus sent me on an observation mission" he held up a small camera "said I've got to put this somewhere inside"

"And will you?"

Reno shuddered; Sephiroth's voice was dripping with menace "no I'll just stick it in another bar"

"Good" Sephiroth stood up smoothly "give Rufus my regards" he purred

* * *

"Yazoo…come out of there"

"No"

"Do you even know who's asking?"

Yazoo listened hard, "the arrogant tone, the lazy drawl full of self confidence" he left a deliberately long pause "let me think… could it be Genesis"

He opened the door and glared at the Remnant "you think I'm arrogant?"

"Who doesn't?"

Genesis's eyes narrowed but he allowed the remark to pass "why are you down here?"

"I don't know, I just felt weird all of a sudden" Yazoo lowered his gaze and

Genesis rolled his eyes "you can't kid me, how long has this been going on?"

"For a couple of days" Yazoo hung his head "I didn't want to make them worried"

"Would you like me to tell you why I only have one wing?" he leaned lazily against the wall and resisted the urge to shudder when the damp seeped through his coat.

"Yes"

"Very well" Genesis said softly then cleared his throat and went on "unlike Sephiroth who was injected with Jenova cells during the fetal stage, I was injected with the cells of a woman who had also been injected with Jenova cells, but I was a failed experiment, I had the ability to create clones but not to incorporate others into myself like Angeal could. I was deemed a failure by the scientists and was left alone until there was an accident" he closed his eyes "during fight with Sephiroth and Angeal, I got…carried away., Sephiroth and I probably would have killed each other if it wasn't for Angeal, but at a cost" his hand touched his left shoulder. "A wound I sustained during the fight did not heal; and soon this grew" he gestured lazily as he stretched out his wing. "Because I was a failed experiment my other wing only developed slightly and had to be removed before it caused too much damage"

"Oh" Yazoo breathed "so that's why"

"Yes" Genesis turned to go but paused at the door "Sephiroth has a different story to tell though and it's more interesting than mine"

"In what way?" Yazoo grabbed his arm and held him back "how is it more interesting?"

"It's more morbid of course, are Sephiroth's stories ever happy?"

* * *

hahaha Reno got my spy camera, if he puts it in anther bar i'll set Chaos on him!

and if you were wondering Genesis didn't hurt Tseng, he got bored halfway through threatening him and wandered off to see why Yazoo was in the basement

until next time :P


	24. Chapter 24

Alive again

A/N: well here it is, enjoy

Disclaimer: i only own this fic, alas Final Fantasy VII is not mine :(

* * *

Vincent pinned Kadaj down as he writhed and winced sympathetically, he glanced over at Reno who had a helpless expression.

"What can we do yo?"

"Nothing, we can only wait" he winced again as Kadaj's thrashes jarred his left arm, he noticed Reno's confusion and took off his gauntlet "this is why I wear it" he explained as he showed the Turk the mangled and twisted skin "Hojo used like to be right, but he didn't see the downside of placing four demons into my body, as you can see there were side affects"

Reno hesitantly touched his arm then ran his hand over the greyish skin, suppressing a shiver as he felt bones sticking out of Vincent's skin. "Must be kinda hard to move it huh?"

"Occasionally" Vincent allowed the contact for a minute then moved his arm away and strapped his gauntlet back on "Reno, I think there's someone you should meet if you're going to be coming here more often"

"Who? I know everyone here" Reno turned his gaze back to Kadaj and tried to soothe him.

_You want me to meet another Turk, shame on you Vincent for stooping this low as to even dare to suggest this._

I'd rather he knew now rather than walk in when you're doing something stupid

_Do not test me Valentine, I'll meet him only because I'm thinking of my kin, I have more experience with this situation than you._

Vincent smiled slightly "Reno, promise me you won't hit or shoot me in a minute"

Reno looked up "why would I?" he asked and a couple of seconds later his mouth dropped open "Shiva's tits yo" he breathed "who and what are you?"

Chaos cast him a wary glance then turned to Kadaj "my name is Chaos" he calmed the Remnant immediately then turned back to Reno baring his fangs "don't think that I am meeting you out of curiosity, I'm only here because my kin needs me" with that said he flicked his claws at Kadaj's back, opening a small but deep tear in his skin.

Reno opened his mouth to protest but closed it in horror when he saw the demon biting at the tear he just created, Chaos growled slightly with irritation then dug his claws into the Remnant's shoulder creating small puncture wounds.

"What the hell are you doing?" Reno yelled and grabbed Chaos's arm trying to pull him away.

Chaos snarled and threw Reno away from him "foolish human!" he spat "do not question my methods"

"But that's going to cause him even more pain" Reno struggled to get up then yelped as Chaos pinned him to the floor.

"This is how my kind release their wings! It's the only way I know!"

Reno struggled wildly "couldn't you just let it grow out naturally?" he asked and flinched as Chaos growled, something which he felt as well as heard, he grimaced as Chaos's scent reached him, he smelt of blood and something else Reno couldn't identify.

"The shock would kill him" Chaos said simply then tapped his claws on Reno's throat "would Rufus care if I killed you?"

Reno shuddered, Chaos's claws were icy cold "I'm second in command" he pointed out nervously as the claws trailed round his throat.

Chaos smiled horribly "in that case you can give this message to Rufus personally"

"What" Reno never got to finish the sentence, Chaos growled then sank his fangs deep into Reno's shoulder, with an agonised howl Reno writhed and kicked Chaos away from him, somehow managing to drag himself up onto his knees.

Chaos smiled darkly and lifted Kadaj into his arms "I'd hurry" he called as he carried him upstairs "my fangs have poison"

"Poison" Reno gasped and got shakily to his feet "screw planting the camera, I've got to get help"

* * *

"Where's Reno gone?" Kadaj asked quietly as Chaos laid him carefully on his bed and began to cut into his skin again.

Chaos was silent for a while before answering "he had to go back and see Rufus Kadaj"

"Could you go get him? He's sometimes funny" Kadaj nuzzled into the pillow and closed his eyes ignoring the increasing amount of pain as Chaos worked at freeing his wing.

Chaos rolled his eyes then went back to the job at hand; he had more important things to think about than feel even slightly guilty about a Turk who in his opinion got exactly what he deserved. He gently touched the wing admiring how well developed it was then firmly grasped it "should I call the others?" he asked politely.

"Yes"

Chaos lifted his head and made a long low humming noise in the back of his throat. People were drawn to the sound even if they didn't want to follow him, and normally they were lead to their deaths. Chaos wasn't surprised to see that Yazoo and Loz responded first, their bond with their brother drew them to him anyway; they would have come even if he hadn't called. Before he even asked Yazoo moved to Kadaj's side and rested his head near his, giving whatever comfort he could. Loz moved closer and stood by the bed like a guard.

Chaos smiled, each brother was fulfilling their role perfectly just as they practised. He waited as Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth, Tseng and Genesis came into the room then nodded to Yazoo who offered Kadaj his hand which he grasped tightly, and Loz moved closer, ready to pin Kadaj down if necessary.

Chaos took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself, he was surprised when Sephiroth and Genesis moved to his side as well.

"We're ready" Genesis purred and smirked, Sephiroth nodded and a strange glow came into his eyes.

Chaos checked his hold on the wing and pulled.

All the Remnants winced as Kadaj screamed, sharing in his pain as his wing was pulled through the cut in his skin and exposed to them all.

"Wow" Tifa breathed as Kadaj moaned and stretched out the fragile limb "it's beautiful"

Kadaj laughed shakily "would you look at that" he said weakly "I'm an angel"

Sephiroth laid his hand on Kadaj's back "sleep brother, we'll be here when you wake"

* * *

Sephiroth's being a good brother for once. Must be because of Zack, he's so cheerful and caring it just rubs off on other people.

i'm so sorry Reno fans ( and i'm one too!) it had to be done and he was interfering with things he didn't understand *slaps myself* it's not really an excuse but he still hasn't planted my camera in 7th Heaven! Next time i'll just get Tseng to do it :)

untill next time


	25. Chapter 25

Alive again

A/N: if anyones interested this chapter was slightly influenced by Evanescence, i was listening to Snow white queen for most of yesterday.

Disclaimer: what's the point you know i don't own

* * *

Rufus almost yelped in surprise as Reno was carried into his office by Rude closely followed by Elena and a rather pale Tseng. "What happened to him?" he asked, he was worried in spite of himself.

Rude and Elena exchanged looks "we don't know" Elena said after a while "but" she glanced back at Tseng who stepped forward.

"He was bitten by Chaos Sir, a demon inhabiting the body of Vincent Valentine"

"I see" Rufus cast Tseng a disapproving gaze "why didn't you return here after you had recovered enough to leave?"

"With all due respect Sir, it would have been impolite to leave their hospitality too early" he looked down slightly "and they needed me" he added quietly.

Thankfully Rufus didn't hear his last comment as he was examining Reno "is it poisonous?"

"Chaos said his fangs were, but he may have been lying"

"And why would he do that?" Rufus turned back to Tseng who shifted uncomfortably "surely he would have preferred it if Reno had died"

"I'm still here guys" Reno moaned then looked woozily at Tseng "why are you here Tseng? They need you back there…Kadaj…" his eyes slid shut and he lay limply in Rude's arms.

Tseng moved forward towards him then decided against it "Chaos wanted Reno out of the bar, he considered it his territory and Reno was invading that territory"

"Then why didn't he bite you? Surely you're invading his territory as well"

Tseng considered it, he remembered Chaos telling him and the Remnants about Sephiroth's and Vincent's family connection. Did that mean since he helped Sephiroth he was considered family? He didn't know if that was bad thing.

"Well?" Rufus was still looking at him expectantly.

Tseng shook his head sadly and turned away from him "I don't know" he said quietly "I really don't know anymore, everything used to be so easy but now" he looked back at Rufus "there was always good and bad, right and wrong. But those two have become so hazy to me. On one side there's the Turks trying to capture Sephiroth and the others to perform tests and experiments on them to see why they've come back. And on the other side there's the inhabitants of 7th Heaven, a broken and twisted family trying to live a normal life" he laughed sadly "I don't know what side I'm on anymore"

"Tseng" Elena gently touched his arm "does that mean you're leaving?"

"No, I just can't help you capture them" he moved his arm away from her and looked straight at Rufus "you have to stop this; it's not doing any good"

"We need to know Tseng"

"Why? So you can go into the Lifestream yourself?" Tseng strode over to Rude and took Reno from his arms "I'm going to get him some help"

"Where from?" Rufus spat as Tseng supported the half conscious Turk.

Tseng looked back "who better to help him than the one who bit him" he said simply then helped Reno out the door.

* * *

"I have to admit, his wing developed better than I thought it would" Genesis remarked conversationally, watching as Sephiroth gently straightened out delicate limb and examined it carefully. "Considering what you did to yours" he glanced at Sephiroth's back and rested his hand on his left shoulder blade.

Sephiroth froze then shuddered as Genesis ran his hand down his back. "Stop" he growled and shifted away from him.

"There's no point in bottling up bad memories Sephiroth" he leaned closer to him "you never did tell me the real reason for why you only have one wing" he breathed then leaned his head on Sephiroth's shoulder. The sudden want for comfort alarmed him slightly.

Sephiroth relaxed, it would do no good to get angry with Genesis now, it would wake up Kadaj for one thing, and this was one of the few times Genesis acting agreeable, it would be a shame to spoil the moment. "I was in the Lifestream when my other wing developed; it was very painful since I didn't have anyone there. Zack helped me with my right one but no one was there for me the second time. Jenova made me think at first that they were beautiful, wings fitting for a future god"

Genesis snorted slightly then hid his face in Sephiroth's hair "go on" he muttered

"She gave me a lot of time to myself, to form our next plan she always said, I can't help but think she was testing me. To see if I would follow her every suggestion, and I did…for a while anyway" his face twisted into a bitter sneer "it was her fatal mistake. I was starting growing uneasy about the wings, I was thinking more and more about what you had said, that I was a monster. I came to the conclusion that my wings proved it and just as I was due to return, I cut one off"

Genesis couldn't help it; his own wing shot out of his back and he trembled uncontrollably "you…cut it off?" he whimpered "oh Seph"

"I thought it was a fitting punishment for all I put you through" Sephiroth said smoothly "and for all that I had done, even now I can't say I regret my actions though they cost me dearly"

"How?"

"I cut it off using a combination of magic and my own strength" he shivered slightly remembering what he had done to himself. "Wings grow back Genesis and I wanted to make sure mine never did" he smiled bitterly "and I almost killed myself in the process" he waved a hand as Genesis opened his mouth "yes I know you can't die in the Lifestream, I mean I weakened myself to a point that I would have preferred to die for the magic I used erased some of my genetic structure, I can't tell you how long it took me to recover as time in the Lifestream is different than it is on Gaia. But when I did I knew my wing would never grow back"

"But…._how_ could you?" Genesis's voice shook with a mixture of horror and guilt

"I felt guilty and when you're half mad, guilt can make you do some crazy things" he smirked slightly "the only good thing about that incident was that when I recovered Jenova couldn't take control of me anymore, I had become too much like my old self for her to control"

"Seph…I never knew"

Sephiroth felt a twinge of sympathy, even though Genesis had been through the hell of degradation he couldn't imagine cutting off his own wing. He felt Genesis shaking and gently embraced him, trying to soothe his tremors.

"It's my fault you did that" Genesis choked and his wing wrapped clumsily around Sephiroth returning his embrace "you did that because of me, if I hadn't been so" words failed him and he buried his face in Sephiroth's shoulder.

"I was to blame as well" Sephiroth murmured and gently stroked Genesis's wing "I shouldn't have been so cruel to you, if I had accepted the apple you gave me maybe none of this would have happened"

Genesis couldn't say anything else, so Sephiroth sat there silently comforting the red head until he fell asleep. Then he laid him next to Kadaj and watched over both of them.

* * *

i'll leave it up to you to decide how he managed to to survire but this is Sephiroth we're talking about. i might write a proper story about it sometime

until next time :D


	26. Chapter 26

Alive again

A/N: i am thinking about writing a special halloween chapter, any ideas for storyline and costumes will be happily accepted (i'll send you video footage from my secret camera) :D

* * *

Tseng wasn't surprised to see Chaos waiting for him outside the building, but he recognised him only because of his eyes. He hadn't taken Vincent's form.

"Hello mortal how's the other Turk?"

Tseng rolled his eyes, though he could look like a human Chaos still had a lot to learn about human conversation. "Okay…I think" he glared at the demon "not that you helped with that"

"I'm only here because I wanted to see how he was coping after I marked him" Chaos pawed Reno's shoulder and grinned as Reno moaned and shifted away from him.

"Marked him?" Tseng moved Reno's arm slightly and swore as he saw the bite "why didn't I bring a Cure with me?"

"It wouldn't work anyway" Chaos crowed triumphantly "my powers too dark for Ancient's magic to undo" his grin got wider displaying slightly pointed teeth and he laughed. It was deep and rich and Tseng felt drawn to him, he couldn't help but enjoy the sound.

"What can you do then?" he asked then shook his head trying to get the laugh out of his head.

"Nothing, I can't do anything" he stepped back and preened "what do you think?" he purred and spread out his arms.

Tseng studied him carefully, his skin was tinged with grey and his eyes had an unnatural yellow glow, his black hair had red streaks in it matching the headdress he wore when he was in his normal form and was a little shorter than Vincent's, it hung in his eyes though it didn't seem to bother him. He also had a black and gold band tied round his neck with a Cerberus charm hanging from it.

"Nice collar" Reno sniggered "did someone finally tame you?"

"Can you feel my power running through your veins Turk? It's painful isn't it" Chaos leaned closer to Reno "I could make your flesh burn from the inside out"

"It's _enough _Chaos" Tseng snapped and shifted allowing Reno to lean more comfortably on him. He'd just gone very pale

The demon looked at Tseng and grinned wickedly "oh but I was having fun"

"Why are you really here?"

"I told you" he purred "I wanted to see how he was coping after I marked him"

"What do you mean by marked"

Chaos smirked "Did you know I can sense emotions?"

"No" Tseng glanced at Reno, he looked very woozy "can we talk about this later"

"No but we can walk and talk"

"I can't" Reno muttered "please just drop me off at a hospital guys"

"No! They'll discover my power and want to use it for their twisted purposes" Chaos grabbed Reno and carried him over his shoulder.

Reno squirmed angrily "let go you crazy son of a!"

"I would be careful Reno" Chaos interrupted and his eyes glowed "you have no idea what I'm capable of"

"This is so embarrassing" he groaned and slumped wearily, hiding his face in Chaos shoulder.

Chaos grinned "many mortals would kill for a chance like this, to be carried by demon and knowing that they would not harm them, you should be savouring this moment. There's not going to be another"

"Just wake me up when we get to 7th Heaven" Reno growled and Tseng smiled

"Not all doctors are like Hojo" he pointed out and hid a smile as Chaos glared at him.

"Shut it Turk!"

* * *

"Hey Kadaj, wake up"

Kadaj groaned and rolled over "I don't wanna"

"Kadaj"

"Go away!"

"No"

"I'll set Chaos on you"

"Please get up Kadaj someone wants to see you"

The Remnant finally opened his eyes and glared up at Tifa "who?"

"Come see"

He sighed wearily then examined his wing, like Sephiroth's and Genesis's wing, the feathers were black and he only had the one. He stretched it out and grinned "wow"

"Wow" Tifa agreed and smiled at him "it really looks beautiful"

"Dam it Kadaj! Get the hell down here!"

Kadaj frowned "was that Tseng?"

"Yep, he wants to see you" she put her hand on his shoulder "he's really angry for some reason"

Kadaj shrugged and went downstairs jauntily. Tifa sat down on the bed and glanced at Sephiroth who was sitting in a chair in the far corner of the room "what do you think Tseng wants?"

Sephiroth kept his eyes closed " he probably wants to blame Kadaj for something" he said smoothly "maybe Rufus has given him 'leave' for being MIA for the past couple of days"

"It was hardly MIA, Rufus knew where he was"

Sephiroth opened one eye lazily "yes but Tseng didn't come back when he had recovered enough to go, for all his faults Rufus has a strong sense of loyalty and hates to see others lose their sense of it" he closed his eye again

Tifa hesitated "Sephiroth?"

"Yes Tifa"

"Do you think they're happy here?"

Sephiroth didn't have to ask who she was talking about "from what they have told me my brothers have never had a real home, they were brought up in Nibelheim, locked inside the Shinra Manor"

"Like you and Vincent"

"Yes, I can hardly say it was the best environment for them to grow up in" he let out a weary sigh "at least they had each other"

"Was…was it terrible there?" Tifa didn't know what response she would get from this question, Sephiroth could either lock down on her or fly into a controlled rage which admittedly her frightened more than an uncontrolled one.

"It was…one of the worst times of my life and is the main reason why I act so uncaringly to my friends and family" he smiled apologetically at her and hung his head, hiding behind his hair. Clearly stating that he wanted to be left alone.

Tifa went up to him and wrapped her arms around him "I'm sorry" she whispered

Sephiroth felt a little stunned but felt a need to return the embrace, he wrapped his wing around her "there's no need" he said simply and gently pulled away from her.

She smiled "I know"

* * *

As soon as Kadaj walked into the living room a hand flew out of nowhere and slapped him, he reeled back in surprise clutching his cheek and stared wide eyed at a furious Tseng. "What was that for?" he yelped

"Because of you Reno's like this!" he gestured wildly towards Reno and made to slap Kadaj again, Kadaj quickly caught his arm and glared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Then explain this, your acceptance of Reno made Chaos mark him!" Tseng howled and twisted his arm out of Kadaj's grip "and I thought you had changed!"

"What do you mean?"

Chaos stepped forward with a bored expression and yawned "you don't mind Reno coming here do you Kadaj?"

"Not really"

"Since you are my kin I was forced to accept him under my own terms and for my kind to be recognised as being accepted by the group you had to be marked by them" he set down Reno and showed Kadaj the bite mark "each group of demons had their own particular mark, the venom in our fangs contains a chemical that forces the blood to mix partially with our power, thus they would carry the particular group's scent and virtually belong to them"

Kadaj blinked "couldn't you just rub yourself against them like cats do, I've seen you do it before"

"If scent is transferred that way it eventually wears off, this way the scent is carried forever, so joining a group of demons is not to be taken lightly"

"Wow" Tseng gazed thoughtfully at Reno "you must think a lot of him"

"No!" Chaos growled "it is only because Kadaj accepts him that I did this, I wouldn't dream of marking someone so impure normally" he nuzzled Kadaj's head fondly "but what family says, goes and I can't change people's opinions" his eyes narrowed "though I really would like to"

"Will he be okay though?" Kadaj knelt beside the Turk and gently brushed his hair out of his face.

Chaos grinned "oh he'll feel terrible for a while but he's had enough hangovers to cope with it"

"True" Tseng watched Kadaj warily, he still didn't trust the Remnant but he couldn't be that dangerous if he liked Reno, a sudden thought came to him and he turned "why didn't you mark me then?"

Chaos smiled sheepishly "you're too pure for me to mark, if I did bite you a rush of pure Lifestream would rush into my system and it's not a pleasant experience" he shuddered and shook his head slightly.

"That's fine by me; I didn't fancy getting bitten by a crazy demon today anyway" Tseng purred then ducked and ran as Chaos lunged for him

* * *

Me: Haha Kadaj got bitch slapped, Reno belongs to Tseng Kadaj and don't you forget it. :D

Kadaj: No fair! Don't i get a say in this?

Me: No! Hahaha


	27. Chapter 27

Alive again

A/N: sorry if you waited, i was stuck for ideas, by the by if you want i'd advise listening to _Anthem of the Angels _by Breaking Benjamin while reading the second bit, it gave me inspiration for that bit.

Disclaimer: you know i don't own, does anyone borther reading these anyway?

* * *

Reno groaned and opened his eyes to see an amused Yazoo staring down at him "hey yo"

"Hello Reno" Yazoo cast a wary glance towards the door then relaxed "you know you've been keeping everyone up" he smiled slightly at Reno's questioning look and went on "or rather Kadaj has been keeping everyone else up because of you"

"Whatcha mean?"

"I mean that he's been practically forcing us to stay awake by screaming at us to come and check on you every five minutes. I've been here a couple of hours so the others can attempt to get some sleep" he frowned, suddenly lost in thought.

"Why did that crazy son of a bitch bite me anyway?" Reno sat up ignoring the reproachful look Yazoo gave him as he did. "I know Vincent doesn't like me that much but getting his demon to bite me is too much"

Yazoo glared at him "I will not have you referring to father that way!"

Reno laughed nervously, remembering what had happened when Yazoo had said something like that before "I won't do it again honest"

"Good" Yazoo purred "if you want to blame anyone blame Kadaj, his 'acceptance' of you forced Chaos to bite you thus claiming that you pretty much belong to this family"

"So you mean" Reno said glumly "I'm this family's bitch"

"A groupie" Yazoo sniggered then yelped as Kadaj burst into the room.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me he was awake Yazoo?"

"Because I wanted peace and quiet" Yazoo muttered and rolled his eyes as Kadaj gave him a pitying glance.

"Ignore him" he purred "he's too arrogant for his own good"

Yazoo got up and very deliberately reached out and pulled Kadaj's hair "look who's talking" he sang as Kadaj hissed and turned with murder in his eyes.

Reno laughed nervously "guys, settle down there's no need to fight over me"

Yazoo glared at him contemptuously "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Reno. Remember you're here because our hospitality knows no bounds" at this he rolled his eyes "even so I'd take care if I were you, there are several people under this roof who would love to have the opportunity to attack or kill you. So I'd watch what you say" with that said he leaned close to Reno, pressing a short knife into his throat "one wrong word and…"

Kadaj pushed him away "get over it Yazoo, you're just annoyed because he almost beat you in your fight"

"He also tried to kill me Kadaj" Yazoo said, his voice going deadly calm "or have you forgotten that" his expression saddened and he left the room.

"Shouldn't you go after him?" Reno asked as Kadaj sat down on the end of the bed and sighed.

"I don't know, Yazoo sometimes goes weird sometimes. He hides his emotions then suffers for it afterwards when they burst out unexpectedly" he leaned back and rested his chin in his hands "this could have been from a couple of weeks ago, or a few days. It's impossible to know unless you follow him and force him to tell you"

"He sounds like Sephiroth" Reno said thoughtfully and answered Kadaj's questioning look "yeah I used to know him, went on a few missions with him too. They normally ended with me stuck in the hospital and him coming to visit with that annoying smug smile that Yazoo has perfected"

"How your shoulder?"

Reno touched the bite tentatively and shrugged "I can't really feel it; it's gone kind of numb"

"Is that normal?" Kadaj asked and Reno laughed

"This is 7th Heaven yo, is anything here ever normal?"

"I'm glad you're back" Kadaj leaned against Reno ignoring his puzzled look.

"Me too…I guess" Reno said cautiously and resigned himself to getting used to Kadaj's mood swings; he'd probably come to his senses in a while and kick him out.

* * *

_So this is where you died_

Sephiroth stared at the place where Angeal's Buster sword once stood; instead there was a small headstone and a small bunch of yellow and white flowers. Sephiroth crouched down and ran his fingers over the small inscription.

_Zackary Fair_

_SOILDER First class_

_A loyal friend and mentor_

_May he rest in peace_

"I wasn't there for you"

Sephiroth didn't turn round "do you continue to haunt me Zack?" he said lightly concealing his emotions as usual. He felt Zack's hand on his shoulder and still didn't turn to face him.

"I should have forced you to listen to me in Nibelheim"

"Then where would we be? Happy? Continuing as we used to? It had to happen Zack and I honestly couldn't imagine that kind of future for me" he bowed his head "I was never meant to have a happy life, I am granted occasional spells of happiness then I am forced to face reality"

"It's only as real as you make it" Zack said quietly "I mean look at me, I wanted to be a hero and I am…I'm a dead hero"

At this Sephiroth finally turned to face him "you were a hero to Cloud weren't you? You saved him from death; you helped Genesis although he was your enemy" he shook his head sadly "and I thought it would be you comforting me"

"Jeez I'm sorry Seph, it's just…" Zack let out a sigh "I miss you guys…I know I should be happy where I am but I'm not"

"Could you come back?"

Zack shrugged "I don't know, I don't think I'd be allowed"

"Allowed?" Sephiroth asked puzzled and Zack nodded

"Yeah I've got a get a pass" he laughed mournfully "you can't get out of jail for free you know"

"But if you could, would you?"

Zack looked down "I can't answer that buddy, at least not now"

Sephiroth glanced back towards the gave and sighed "I didn't bring anything for you"

A ghost of a smile flitted across Zack's face and he touched Sephiroth's shoulder gently. Sephiroth understood immediately and spread out his wing; he carefully pulled out a feather and laid it reverently next to the flowers.

"My friend, will you fly away now to a world the abhors you and I, all that awaits you is a sombre morrow no matter where the winds may blow"

Sephiroth turned in surprise "LOVELESS?"

"Yeah" Zack admitted and smiled properly this time "I spent too much time around Genesis"

"Indeed"

"But will you?" Zack pursued "fly away? From all this?"

Sephiroth sighed "I need them…more than I would care to admit and anyway I've leant the hard way that hiding from the past leads to discord and sorrow"

"Visit again Seph"

Zack slowly faded from view and Sephiroth sank slowly to his knees in front of his grave and bowed his head, silently grieving for his lost friend

* * *

someone please go out and comfort him! Genesis? Kadaj? Vincent? Anyone?

Fine be meanies, i'll set Chaos on all of you

don't forget to review :D (any ideas are welcome!)


	28. Chapter 28

Alive again

A/N: Happy Halloween! This chapter is all about it or did you already guess that?

disclaimer: is there any point anymore? i don't own

* * *

"I feel ridiculous"

"Why?" Kadaj asked casually and adjusted his pirate hat "you're not even dressed up"

"Just look!" Tseng gestured around at them all "I'm embarrassed by all of you"

Kadaj pouted "why should you be? It's Halloween"

"It's just" Tseng sighed and went on "I would have never expected Gaia's most feared enemies to dress up"

"So" Yazoo purred and examined his face in a mirror, it had been painted grey with several convincing cuts and Geostigma scars "aren't we allowed to have fun?"

"I didn't say that"

"I'd stay out of it if I were you Tseng" Vincent muttered lamely and smiled "they'll win in the end"

"And who are you going as?"

"Chaos"

"And Reno?"

Reno swaggered into the room with a grin sporting a tail and horns "a devil"

"It suits you" Tseng groaned and ran his hand over his face "where's Cloud and Tifa?"

"Taking Denzel and Marlene out trick or treating before the party!" Kadaj clapped his hands together and jumped excitedly up and down. Yazoo laughed at him then went over and joined in.

Tseng felt his sprites drop "a party, you've got to be kidding"

"Unfortunately not" Vincent said wearily "I never should have mentioned Halloween"

"Oh so this is your doing Vincent!"

Vincent held up his hands apologetically "it's only going to be a party between us"

"Is Yuffie coming?"

"No I think she's ill" Vincent couldn't disguise the relief in his voice and Tseng smirked.

"Why are you so happy about that?"

Fortunately for Vincent, Tseng was distracted when both Sephiroth and Genesis came downstairs; Genesis had a triumphant grin on his face. "I told you they'd shut up" he purred and Tseng wasn't surprised that he'd dressed up as a cat which admittedly suited him.

"I can't believe you talked me into this" Sephiroth growled and cuffed Genesis around the head "I look like an idiot"

"No you look like a vampire" Genesis said smugly then hissed and scampered away as Sephiroth made to hit him again.

"Hey brother!" Kadaj sang "do you glitter in the sun?"

Sephiroth snarled at him displaying sharp pointed fangs "shut it Kadaj or would you like me to get rid of your pet"

"No!" Kadaj wailed and clung to Reno who pushed him away with an outraged expression.

"I'm nobody's pet yo!"

Tseng shook his head pityingly then turned his gaze on Sephiroth; nothing had really been done to him since he was already very pale with dark circles under his eyes. All that was different was that he was bare-chested and had a black cloak slung around his shoulders. He caught Tseng's eyes and lifted his chin imperiously. "On your knees, I want you to beg for forgiveness" his eyes glowed slightly and a cruel smile played across his lips.

Tseng very nearly obeyed him but a low snigger from Kadaj made him come back to his senses; he looked up at Sephiroth who was smirking "are you so easily controlled Tseng?" he purred.

"No" he snapped angrily and straightened up trying to regain some of his lost dignity

"Good" Sephiroth frowned then turned and called back up the stairs "Loz! Come down"

There was a loud sobbing and Sephiroth rolled his eyes "what's wrong Loz?"

"I can't get the ears to stay on!"

Yazoo moved to the bottom of the stairs "come one Loz, I'll help you get them on properly"

Loz walked sheepishly down and glared around at everyone "I am not crying!"

"Yes you are Loz, you've made a mess of your face paint" Yazoo scolded and shook his head slightly, he attached the ears firmly onto Loz's head then cuffed him gently as his hand shot up to them "don't play with them Loz"

"Why?"

Yazoo turned away from him with a sigh and sat down on the sofa wearily "when are they getting back?"

"Soon, hopefully" Genesis turned his gaze on Loz and frowned "what are you supposed to be"

Loz huffed obviously offended "I'm a werewolf and I hate like cats!"

"And I'm supposed to be scared?"

Kadaj quickly got between them before a fight started "come on you guys it's Halloween, lighten up"

"Not if he's here" Loz growled "just because his costume was easy"

Kadaj hesitated "well it is kind of hard to tell Loz since you smudged it when you were crying"

Loz made a noticeable growling noise in the back of his throat.

* * *

"See, wasn't that fun?" Tifa said smiling at the Remnants who had all collapsed on the sofa after playing endless games of music chairs with Marlene and Denzel.

"If you say so" Genesis groaned and kicked Loz away from him, fortunately Loz was too exhausted to care.

Kadaj yawned sleepily and poked Genesis "get off him Gen"

"Gen?" Genesis shook his head slightly "it's been a while since anyone's called me that"

"Not since before you deserted" Sephiroth said lazily and rested his head on the sofa's armrest.

"It's been too long"

Sephiroth nodded and looked around "where's Cloud?"

Tifa smiled "he's over there with Denzel"

Cloud was asleep against the wall with his arm wrapped around Denzel who was snoring quietly.

"And Vincent?"

Tifa nodded towards the corner of the room was Vincent was curled up, his wings wrapped tightly around him.

Kadaj grinned and settled himself next to Reno "happy Halloween" he purred.

* * *

it would have taken too long to have written all the crazy party games they went through and i'm feeling kinda lazy today, though my secret camera has some interesting footage, i'll leave you to wonder

:D


	29. Chapter 29

Alive again

A/N: stupid homework! i haven't had time to write recently

* * *

"Tseng, I need to know if you and Reno are coming back, you're the two top Turks you know"

Tseng drummed his fingers on the table and sighed "I can't make assumptions about you through one phone call, will you leave them alone?"

"It's more complicated than just leaving them alone; it's the whole question of how you're going to integrate them back into everyday life"

Tseng frowned, to be honest he hadn't spend much time thinking about that. He'd been so caught up with the excitement and the general family vibe that he hadn't considered what would happen if the public managed to get a proper look at Sephiroth or the Remnants. There'd be widespread panic no doubt.

Reno slunk into the room and stood by his side, _is it Rufus?_He mouthed and Tseng nodded wearily "I know it'll be difficult but he used to be a hero, it probably won't be difficult for them to accept him again"

"Hmm maybe you're right, but what about the Remnants?"

Reno grinned and struggled to keep in his laughter, _he has you there! _He mouthed and doubled over covering his mouth with his hand.

Tseng pointedly ignored him "I don't know" he admitted and shot Reno a dark glare "it's not like they ever really did anything to help" Unknown to him both Kadaj and Yazoo had just come into the room and Kadaj looked outraged.

"You see my point" Rufus said wearily "we can't just plonk them straight into the middle of Edge, but we can't just let them go on like they are"

"Hmm…I guess I'll have to think about it" Tseng put the phone down and turned to met Kadaj's furious gaze.

"What do you mean we didn't do anything to help?" Kadaj asked calmly though his voice was strained with the effort.

"Well" Tseng knew he was on dodgy ground now and chose his words carefully "Rufus and I was discussing how we could get you more used to life outside 7th Heaven"

"I don't really see why we should" Yazoo said dreamily but his gaze was fixed warily on Kadaj "we like it here"

"But wouldn't you like to go out and mix with other people?" Tseng almost pleaded, he was desperate to keep Rufus on his good side.

"Not really" Yazoo gestured towards himself and Kadaj lazily "I've never been very sociable and Kadaj has issues" it was a dangerous comment but Kadaj let it pass unchallenged

"And Loz?"

"defiantly not a good idea, Loz isn't very good around anyone other than us" Kadaj added quietly "it's not really a good idea Tseng, no one out there would accept us as anything other an monsters anyway so what's the point?"

"Quitter" Reno muttered and straightened up "where's all your attitude gone?"

Kadaj turned on his heel and stalked out of the room muttering threats; Reno watched him go and shook his head "what pulled his chain?"

"Sephiroth" Yazoo said simply then slipped out of the room after his brother.

"Remnants" Reno said shaking his head in fond disbelief

"Remnants" Tseng agreed.

* * *

"

He needs to learn that he doesn't rule the world" Sephiroth argued stubbornly.

"I wonder where he got that from" Genesis muttered and ducked as a book was throw at him, his eyes narrowed as he saw it was his copy of LOVELESS.

"It is an issue" Cloud chipped in "but you never minded before Sephiroth, what did he do?"

"Went out during Halloween and almost killed six people with my sword" Sephiroth growled "they're currently recovering from their ordeal in Edge Hospital though I heard that two are on life-support and the others are traumatised"

"He almost destroyed my bike yesterday" Cloud muttered "he got angry about something, it took a lot just to hold him still"

Genesis whistled "even you weren't that bad Seph" he leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands "what are we going to do about it then?"

"How were you disciplined as child?" Sephiroth asked turning to Cloud, Cloud shrugged.

"I was yelled at a lot if I misbehaved and occasionally threatened with a spanking"

Genesis smirked "I was hit quite often in the early days, then my 'parents' got used to me and my rages"

"And I was belted for the slightest thing" Sephiroth said smoothly and sat down next to Genesis.

Cloud kept his face neutral though he was shocked "some childhood"

Sephiroth smiled bitterly "there weren't many good times"

"So" Genesis said quickly trying to keep the conversation on track "what do you suggest we do?"

"Take it to a higher authority"

"Who's higher than you?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Father of course"

"So you want me to talk to Kadaj?" Vincent eyed his son and Genesis levelly and frowned "about what?"

"About his behaviour issues" Sephiroth said "compared to us he's been spoilt, he can't go out at night and nearly murder innocent people on a whim"

"I can remember you doing the same thing" Vincent said calmly and seemed unmoved when Sephiroth bristled angrily, he hated it when people reminded him of his past.

"I wasn't in my right mind!" he snapped then calmed down slightly as Vincent put his hand on his shoulder.

"Have you considered the fact that this may all be due to stress" he said gently and held up a hand as Sephiroth opened his mouth to protest "it could be like the trauma you went through, these things take time to progress"

"That doesn't mean he should be going around killing" Sephiroth hissed, his pent up frustration refusing to go away.

"I think it's best to let him go through it, you've recovered from your trauma by experiencing it and having us there with you, now we have to do the same with Kadaj. If he continues to show dangerous or murderous behaviour then I will do something about it, until then we will do all we can to help him. It's not easy thing to go through as you know"

"I do but I still don't agree with it"

"It's how you were raised" Vincent said kindly "but I don't disagree with you about the attack on those people, I will speak to him about that"

"You will?" Genesis asked interestedly and Vincent smiled darkly, a twisted smile that was more animalistic than human.

"if he won't I will" he purred as his eyes turned gold


	30. Chapter 30

Alive Again

sorry for the wait, GCSEs are a pain :P

Disclaimer: i don't own

* * *

"And that's the gift of the Goddess" Genesis finished with a flourish and set down the Banora white in front of the two Remnants.

Kadaj yawned and Yazoo elbowed him in the ribs "the apple is the gift of the Goddess?" he asked glancing at it with a mixture of curiosity and suppressed boredom.

Genesis flushed angrily "weren't you paying any attention?"

"None at all" Kadaj yawned again and stretched, gazing outside longingly.

"By the Goddess this is pointless!" Genesis burst out "Honestly! If you refuse to learn about one of the most important things in history!"

"In your opinion" Kadaj interrupted lazily and stood up "if you're finished I'm going out"

"Oh no you're not!" Genesis began but Kadaj had already gone out the door, he sank into a nearby chair and toyed with the apple mournfully "it's hopeless" he sighed "maybe we should clip his wings more"

"But he only has one" Yazoo pointed out and Genesis had to resist the urge to sigh.

"It's an expression; I meant give him less freedom. You heard what he did to those people"

"He was like that in the labs too" Yazoo said pensively

Genesis sat up quickly "what? He was like this before?"

Yazoo suddenly became very interested with the handle of his gun.

"Yazoo"

"What?"

"What did you mean by _he was like that in the labs_?"

Yazoo turned away "its family business" he snapped "you don't count as family"

"I have Jenova's cells don't I?"

"Yes but you were a failed experiment"

That stung, Genesis stood up silently and glared down at Yazoo "and you think you're better, you're just a Remnant, just another failed attempt to recreate Sephiroth" he clapped slowly "congratulations" he drawled sarcastically "you're one in a million"

Yazoo pulled out his gun and aimed it at Genesis's head "don't you dare say that"

"Watch me" he purred then kicked the Remnant in the chest, the blow sent Yazoo crashing against the wall and he slumped to the ground winded. Genesis stood over him and with his foot rolled him onto his back "interesting" he murmured and leaned down pressing his sword in Yazoo's exposed throat "would Sephiroth feel it if I killed you?" he leaned closer smiling as the sword cut into Yazoo's throat slightly causing little streams of blood trickle down his coat. "Would your brothers scream?"

"Get off him Genesis"

Genesis froze then smirked "what are you going to do about it Tseng?" he quickly felt a gun pressed against his ribs and lost some of his confidence. "Tseng is this really necessary?"

"It is" Tseng pushed the gun deeper into Genesis's ribs "get away from him"

Genesis got up and glared at them both "Turks" he spat and stalked off with as much dignity as he could muster.

Yazoo got up quickly and glared at Tseng "what did you do that for? I was fine!"

"He was about to kill you"

"I can defend myself!" Yazoo snapped then pressed his gun against Tseng's chest "may I remind you that I was the one who carried out most of your torture"

Tseng knocked the gun away and grabbed his arm "Do not mess with Genesis!" he hissed "we still have no idea what he's capable of now, he's too unpredictable to risk getting on his bad side"

"So am I!" Yazoo shoved past Tseng and glared back at him "you shouldn't risk getting on my bad side either"

Tseng rolled his eyes "teenagers!"

"You were one yourself you know" Cloud said idly watching Yazoo practically glide out of the room.

"Yes but I was taught to respect my elders, but that" he waved his hand to emphasize the hopelessness of the situation "can't be what you call respect"

"Kadaj and his brothers share an emotion bond" Cloud said quietly "when he gets worked up so do they but just not to the same degree"

"Would that also cover Genesis's murderous moods swings?"

Cloud shrugged "he was injected with Jenova cells as well"

"And so were you Cloud" Tseng folded his arms and looked at him curiously "are you feeling stressed?"

"A bit" he confessed "to be honest I'm feeling kind of jumpy"

"Jumpy? Why?"

"I don't know…maybe it's because of Rufus, I don't trust him"

Tseng sighed "he does have his bad times, listen Cloud do you think there's a way to calm Kadaj down?"

A small smile appeared on Cloud's face "you should talk to Tifa about that"

* * *

"Interesting but what do you suggest I do?" Tifa paused in the middle of cleaning glasses and turned to face him.

"Well how would you help out three stressed Remnants, Gaia greatest enemy and a brat with emotion issues" Tseng asked patiently

Tifa hid a smile "Genesis would kill you if he heard you say that"

"He's not here right now, so what would you do?"

Tifa leant on the counter deep in thought "well, when someone was stressed when we were out chasing Sephiroth, I'd talk to them about it" she frowned "but I don't think that'll work here"

"So what would you do?" Tseng was nearly tearing out his hair in frustration.

Tifa gave him a cool look and put away her glass "I think, we should get them to watch a film"

"A film?" Tseng hid his face in his hands and shook his head

"What's wrong with that?" Tifa asked pleasantly "films can be very beneficial"

"Tifa, these are the Remnants you're talking about as well as Sephiroth and Genesis, you're never going to find a film they'd all like"

A loud shriek of protest suddenly cut through their conversation as Kadaj sped into the room and hid behind Tifa. He was shaking like a leaf, his pale face stained with tears.

"Oh Kadaj" Tifa turned round and hugged the trembling Remnant making quiet soothing sounds as he started to choke out a sentence.

"H-he…t-tried to"

Tifa shushed him gently and stroked his hair "it's alright I promise" she smiled at him "how about I make you some hot chocolate?"

Kadaj looked up at her, round green shining with tears "okay"

Tseng resisted the urge to gag at such a scene and slipped out of the room, he'd ask Tifa more later, maybe he'd spar with Sephiroth. It would keep his mind off of what had just happened since he'd be too busy trying to stay alive. _After all _he thought resignedly _if Kadaj is acting like this who knows what Sephiroth is like._

* * *

what happened to Kadaj?

cookies will be sent out to those who can guess :D


	31. Chapter 31

Alive Again

A/N: okay guys, this is going to be the final chapter and i can't believe i just wrote that. Damm it's time it ended though isn't it? For people who actually enjoyed this story enough to keep following it I promise i'll wirte oneshots and things related to it okay :D

Disclaimer: alas Final Fantasy isn't mine, if it was lots of evily funny things would hapened ;)

* * *

"Genesis Rhapsodos?"

Genesis frowned and turned away from Sephiroth's questioning glance, holding the phone closer to his ear "Rufus Shinra? What do _you_ want?"

"It's a delicate matter" Rufus paused for a moment before going on "is there anyone one with you?"

"Only Sephiroth"

"Is the phone on speaker?"

Genesis smirked at Sephiroth "hang on a sec" he pressed the speaker button allowing Sephiroth to hear the conversation "it's off"

"Good, I'd like to talk about a decision you made a long time ago"

Sephiroth widened his eyes slightly and stared pointedly at Genesis who shook his head mouthing '_not that decision'_ "if you'll forgive me sir" Genesis said aloud "I'm not one to talk about the past"

"I understand that, but this is a urgent matter that I'm afraid to say requires your assistance"

"Indeed?"

Rufus coughed "it's about Deepground"

Genesis swore loudly "they are Shinra's problem!" he snared ignoring Sephiroth who looked confused "not mine!"

"Correct, they are _my_ problem since my _dear_ father passed away" sarcasm seemed to drip off Rufus's voice "and they are partly your problem since it was your genes that set the whole thing off"

Genesis ground his teeth angrily "thank you for reminding me" he growled "anymore touching information that I so desperately need to know?"

"I felt the need to inform you in case they escape; they are stronger than they appear"

"And where did you get all this charming information?"

"I am the president of Shinra; I have access to the files" Rufus sighed wearily and Sephiroth glared at the phone.

"Always so full of themselves" he muttered darkly "it runs in the family"

Genesis bit back the retort where he was going to point out that Lazard hadn't been selfish in anyway, Sephiroth probably didn't know and it was best not to tempt fate. "Even so" he said slowly "what would I if they did escape?"

"Capture them and bring them back to Shinra"

Genesis stiffened "so you can have more test subjects" he hissed "they're the next best thing after me aren't they?"

"Yes" Rufus admitted "however we don't what to experiment, just contain"

"Good luck" Genesis snapped and snapped the phone down in an obvious huff.

"Deepground" Sephiroth said slowly "wasn't it a medical facility?"

"yes" Genesis turned away from Sephiroth, so he could see his reaction "it was because of my evolution that it became a experimentation ground" he paused for a moment allowing Sephiroth to digest the information then went on "after Zack defeated me I was taken to Mako reactor 0 by two of the members where I was asked by one of them to help them take over Deepground. Weiss I think his name was, I refused and left, I felt ashamed of my actions before and believed that I would only cause more harm if I stayed"

"So you abandoned them to their fate"

"It wasn't like that!"

"That may be so, but Genesis" Sephiroth stood up and walked towards the door pausing before he went out "would Angeal have done that?"

Genesis hung his head dejectedly then clenched his fists as a surge of hatred washed over him "I am not Angeal!" he turned to face Sephiroth "and I never will be!"

* * *

Vincent hid his smirk as he watched the Remnants, Tifa and Yuffie watching _Love Actually_. Not a favourite film of his but he could endure watching it, unlike Loz who had starting cringing after the first ten minutes, romance films obviously weren't his thing.

Kadaj and Yazoo on the other hand were staring at the screen enraptured, Kadaj was so relaxed he'd actually let Yuffie lean on him. Vincent had once made the mistake of going that and it had taken months for him get her off his back.

By the time the film had ended everyone accept for Loz was in floods of tears.

"Okay I take it back" Yazoo muttered "it was a good film"

"I told you" Tifa said triumphantly

"It was soooo sweet!" Yuffie yelled excitedly then as eyes fell on Vincent "hi Vince, come over we just finished watching _Love Actually_"

Vincent came forward "really?" he asked as if he hadn't been standing watching them for the past ten minutes and sat down "I spoke to Genesis Yazoo"

"What did he say?" Yazoo asked quickly wiping away his tears and assuming his coolly apathetic expression. Yuffie watched the transformation with some interest.

"I'm not sure, Chaos took over"

Yazoo grinned darkly and Yuffie frowned "who's Chaos?"

"Hey Yuffie, I forgot I was baking cookies, come and give me a hand"

Vincent nodded at Tifa thankfully and she winked.

Kadaj stretched lazily and spread out his wing for effect, Yazoo looked at it wistfully and gently ran his fingers over the delicate feathers "will I get one as well?" he asked softly

"Probably" Vincent took Yuffie's place on the sofa and leaned back closing his eyes.

"Is this peace?" Kadaj asked and Vincent smiled

"I think it is"

* * *

A/N again: about Love Actually, well i wanted them to watch a romantic film and i could so see Yazoo and Kadaj tearing up at it :)

And on that note i can finally say i finished two stories! Speaking of which check it out, it's called Whisper

Don't forget to Review it makes my day happier :D

See ya later readers


	32. Author's note

A/N : holy hell guys your reviews were making me cry :'( forget everything i said in the last chapter okies i'm continuing with the story mainly because i love it too damm much to stop and also because of your reveiws, thanks a lot guys, you've helped me a loads thoughout this whole thing.

now any ideas for the next chapter :D


	33. Chapter 33

Alive Again

A/N: at Valeries26 no i quite like OC stories, i'm just not very good at writing them, i will consider putting one into this story, it'll make it more interesting don't you think?

And once again i apologise for my stupidness you have my full permission to virtually slap me :)

* * *

Tseng yelped as Genesis shoved him against the wall "was this your doing? Getting Rufus to spread lies?"

"What?" Tseng sputtered and pushed Genesis away from him "what are you talking about?"

Genesis made a visible effort to calm down and took a deep breath "have you ever heard of Deepground?"

"Yes, but only things I've read in reports"

Genesis waved his hand "useless data then" he looked away for a moment and when he looked back he almost seemed apologetic "you obviously didn't have anything to do with this, I'm sorry for bothering you" he turned to go and Tseng caught his arm.

"Genesis, what did Rufus tell you?"

"It's all classified info" he said airy and his expression darkened "I was told to watch out for the members of Deepground, it began an experimentation ground after my evolution"

Tseng let go of his arm "where is Deepground?"

"Inside Mako reactor 0" Genesis turned away with a troubled expression "they wanted me to help take control over Deepground, I refused"

"Do you regret it?"

Genesis shrugged "think of what I would have missed, but then again think of what I could of experienced" he suddenly looked very melancholy, with a sigh he said quietly "I have no regrets, I learnt long ago that you have to stay with the choices you pick"

Tseng watched him go.

* * *

"Cloud what's wrong with Sephiroth?"

Cloud sighed "he's in a bad mood so Kadaj is twice as moody, I'd keep away from them for a while"

"Yes but why are they?" Reno asked and winced as Cloud turned his gaze on him

"Sephiroth discovered your secret camera Reno"

"Shit" Reno ran his hand nervously through his hair "so I'm in trouble right?"

Cloud nodded and went on "it's not just that, I think Genesis said something to him"

Reno blinked "and let me guess you want me to…"

"Go and talk to him" Cloud smiled slightly "if you're coming here more often you're going to have to get to know him"

"But he's _Sephiroth_!"

"He's actually not that bad, if you need someone to talk to, he'll just listen"

"It's not working yo"

"Just go and talk to him Reno!"

Reno grinned; ah there was the hidden Strife authority. Funny that he'd only heard that when Cloud was arguing with Sephiroth rather than defending him. He saluted lazily and strolled up to Sephiroth's door, knocking tentatively.

"Sephiroth" he pushed the door open and stepped inside warily, years of being a Turk had given him a certain amount of caution.

As expected, a knife flew out of a corner and buried itself in the wall next to Reno's head. He blinked and peered at the corner where he guessed Sephiroth was standing, his suspicions were proven correct when the darkness shifted slightly and a low voice growled.

"Go away Turk"

"Hello to you too" Reno said with a grin and examined the knife with interest "kitchen knife?" he asked pulling it out of the wall and tossing it from hand to hand.

Sephiroth emerged from the corner and glared at him "what do you want Reno?"

"I came to have a chat"

"Surely you have others to talk to" distaste filled his voice as he took in his appearance "Kadaj for instance"

Reno who had been expecting such an insult shrugged "he's pissed off too"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed "why are you really here?"

"I told you I came to have a chat" Reno sat on the end of then bed and rested his chin in his hand "is that a crime?"

"You must have a motive; you'd never do this normally"

Reno winced "so you'd never think I just wanted to get to know you, that's harsh yo"

"So you do have a reason?" Sephiroth seemed faintly amused now and Reno deemed it safe to go on.

"Cloud said you were feeling down"

"Indeed?"

"He said it had something to do with Genesis" he gulped as Sephiroth's eyes narrowed again. "Listen I only wanted to see if I could cheer you up okay? If Cloud came the two of you would just mope"

Reno wasn't surprised when he found himself pinned to the wall with a sword against his throat; it wasn't like he hadn't been in similar situations.

"You" Sephiroth hissed "know nothing of the world and its hardships"

"How do you know I don't yo?" Reno spat back "I could have joined the Turks to escape everything for all you know"

Sephiroth glared at him for several long moments then lowered his sword, though he still kept Reno pinned against the wall. "What do you have that's bad enough for you to want to escape it?"

"That's personal"

"And you have no intention of telling me?"

"No"

Sephiroth released Reno glanced at him approvingly "now I know I can trust you"

"What?"

Sephiroth ignored his question and went on "Genesis had failed to tell me about a decision he made long ago about a place called Deepground"

Reno frowned "wait isn't that…"

"A medical facility, it used to be until Genesis's evolution caused it to turn into an experimentation ground instead"

"But why should you be angry?"

"Because I thought he would have trusted me enough to tell me about this" his expression darkened angrily "however I forgot that Genesis isn't like Angeal in any way"

Reno knew the warning signs and quickly got up "thanks for sharing Sephiroth but I've got to go"

"Why?" Sephiroth seemed suddenly very keen to take out his anger on Reno "you're the one who convinced me to open up"

"sorry, but I think I heard Cloud calling me" Reno ran out the room as fast as he could and slammed the door behind him as another knife buried itself flew towards him.

"Hey Cloud" he said suddenly relieved to see him again "why was Kadaj crying yesterday?"

"Chaos slapped him and threatened to take him back to forest where they found him and leave him"

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Yes" Cloud couldn't help smiling "but it's stopped him from going out and attacking people hasn't it?"

* * *

At last they were awake, free from the chains that had held them for so long, all that was left now was to claw their way up to the surface and they would be free. They would live and they would kill

* * *

hehe playing Dirge of Cerberus does funny things to your mind, shall i bring in the Tsviets?


	34. Chapter 34

Alive again

A/N: it's amazing how music can movtivate you when you're writing, especially if the music is from Repo the Genetci Opera :D

Disclaimer: ah if Final Fantasy was mine, wouldn't that be fun

* * *

"Zack what are you doing?"

"Nothing" Zack said flushing as he realised he'd been caught out; Aerith folded her arms and tilted her head.

"Really?" she leaned forward and looked over his shoulder "you're watching them again aren't you?"

"Oh Aerith" Zack sighed and turned to face her "why can't I keep anything secret from you?"

Aerith laughed gently "and why can't I keep secrets from you?" she put her hand on his cheek "it's your eyes, they're too pretty"

He smiled and put his head on one side widened his eyes innocently, Aerith laughed again and playfully hit him "stop doing the puppy eyes on me Zack, it won't work"

"What won't work?" he asked faking arrogance

"Zack" Aerith said suddenly serious again and Zack lowered his gaze

"I can't help it; I want to see them again"

"So go"

"No I mean" he paused, running a hand through his hair distractedly "I want to see them again properly"

"So, you want to be alive again?"

"Yeah" Zack said slowly and a small nervous grin came over his face "I guess I do"

"Well then" Aerith turned away slightly trying to disguise the sorrow in her voice "it's not me you should be telling this to, is it?"

"Aerith" Zack turned her around to face him again and drew her close "it's okay"

Tears starting running down the flower girl's cheeks as she buried her face in Zack's shoulder "it's just that, I waited so long for you to come back and when I finally see you again" she took a shuddering breath and looked up at him, green eyes shinning "you have to go"

He looked into her eyes, shining and bright. Like Sephiroth's but in a different way, Sephiroth's eyes shone like a blade, the very same blade that had ended Aerith's life. Did he really want to go back after all his friends had done to them?

No it wasn't their fault; fate's cruel hands had controlled their lives, his friends hadn't caused his death. And Sephiroth hadn't killed Aerith, it was Jenova.

He let out another sigh "Aerith, I don't know what to do anymore" he put his hands on her shoulders "could you come and visit me, if I could go? Or maybe you could come too!" he looked at her hopefully "I want you to come Aerith, after all" he leant forward and gently kissed her cheek "we never got to see the sky together"

"Oh Zack, I, I don't think I could"

"But why not?"

"They need me here"

"They need you down there too"

"Oh Zack, it's just too complicated" she played with a strand of his hair "Cloud misses me very much, but he has to learn that Tifa is the one for him, not me"

"This is a will of the Lifestream thing isn't it?"

"If I'm there he'll only pine after me and it'll break his heart when he realises that I can only be with you Zack"

He pulled her into another hug as she started to sob again, feeling moved by her words "you know the funny thing about the planet" he said softly "it has the most beautiful things on the saddest days, when I returned to the planet, there was the most beautiful sky I'd ever seen. The day before Sephiroth fell into the Mako; the moon was full and all the stars were shining brightly. And when Angeal died" he closed his eyes, even though he could see Angeal whenever he wanted, his death still haunted him. "When Angeal died it started to rain, almost as if the planet was crying for him"

"Zack" Aerith looked up at him and reached up gently wiping away his silent tears.

"I think that when the planet is really affected by a death that it knows is coming; it does something beautiful to honour them" he went on thoughtfully "to let them know that even if no one was around when they died, that someone cared"

"you cared" Aerith whispered "every time one of your friends fell you cared, in Modeoheim when you thought Genesis had died, you cared about him then even after all he did to you. Even though Sephiroth had hurt you, you cared when he fell into the Mako"

"I had to tell Cloud to do it" Zack voice shook slightly "it wasn't Seph, it was Jenova

Aerith shushed him and gently pushed him towards the edge of the field "go on and ask her"

"Come with me"

Aerith was about laugh again when she saw his expression, he was genuinely frightened "you'll be okay, just tell her how you feel" she gave him another gentle push "she'll listen"

Zack took a deep breath and walked towards the edge of the field where a figure was stood waiting for him.

* * *

Vincent sat by Yazoo's bedside as the Remnant twisted in agony; Kadaj sat next to him and was clutching his brother's hand tightly, occasionally brushing his long hair out of his eyes.

"He's getting what he asked for" he said quietly and Vincent wrapped his arm around him.

"There's not much we can do"

"But why?" Kadaj moaned "it wasn't this painful when my wing grew"

"Yazoo is different to you" Vincent explained softly

"This is the first time I've seen him in pain, he always hides it from me" he laughed mockingly "it started when they were in the labs I think, he'd come back after they _torture_ him and act like nothing had happened. He could have been beaten to a pulp and he wouldn't say anything, he'd just let them, he didn't want to scare me" again he laughed mockingly "I was more scared when he collapsed in front of me, he should have said….I could have done something, but every time he never said anything"

Yazoo's eyes opened and focused on them "brother…"

"Yazoo, I'm here" Kadaj leant forward laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It hurts Kadaj" Yazoo smiled weakly "I've never said that before have I?" he let out a whimper and shuddered as a wave of agony swept through him.

Kadaj's normally cold eyes softened and shushed him quietly "It doesn't hurt for long Yazzy I promise"

"Going back to nicknames now are we?" Yazoo muttered with a slight smirk, Vincent heard a trace of Sephiroth's tone in Yazoo's voice.

"Try and get some sleep" he said quietly and stood up, gently running his fingers through Yazoo's hair in an attempt to comfort him. Yazoo rested his head in Vincent's hand and closed his eyes with a soft sigh.

"I'll try Father"

* * *

well it was about time that another Remnant got a wing, and don't ask me where the hell Zack's little speech came from, i have no idea but i did have fun writting it , but did anyone else notice that in Crisis Core the sky was really pretty at the end, it wasn't fair! :'(

hehe i just realised what i said, it' wasn't fair but it was all about Zack fair! :D

okay that was terrible, until next time dear readers


	35. Chapter 35

Alive again

A/N: did anyone else get fed up of all of Deepground repeatedly saying hail Weiss? I was so glad when I killed off a certain someone who just loved bellowing it every chance he got: D

Disclaimer: does anyone bother to read these anymore? Didn't think so

* * *

Sephiroth sat on the sofa deep in thought as Tifa burst in, one hand clasped over her mouth and the other holding her phone. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern "what's wrong Tifa?"

"It's Cloud, he's been attacked"

Sephiroth stood up swiftly and sat Tifa down onto the sofa "do you know where he's been taken?"

She nodded slowly in a state of numb shock "Edge hospital"

Sephiroth resisted the urge to curse "they took him to the biggest hospital in Edge" he groaned "did they say what condition he's in?"

"N-no" Tifa's voice shook and she looked up, eyes filling with tears "oh Seph"

"It's going to be fine" he said softly, to be honest he was feeling slightly shocked as well, Cloud didn't have many enemies and most of ones he did have lived in the same house. What could someone possibly gain from attacking him? As usual none of his thoughts showed on his face and he looked up relived to see Loz moping in the corner with a gloomy expression. "Loz"

Loz glanced at him then at Tifa and frowned "what's happened?"

"Loz can you make Tifa a cup of tea, with lots of sugar for the shock"

Loz nodded still staring with confusion at them both "but what's going on?"

"I need to talk to Father" Sephiroth quickly left the room and went upstairs, as he approached Vincent's room a crippling pain struck his back and he leant heavily against the wall feeling dizzy. The door opened and Vincent moved to his side offering his arm so Sephiroth could lean on him.

"Yazoo is growing a wing"

Sephiroth nodded distractedly "Cloud's been attacked"

Vincent didn't look surprised "I've been talking to Genesis; he said that one of us might be targeted"

"Deepground did this?"

"One would think"

Sephiroth closed his eyes "I can't go to the hospital"

"And I can't get you in secretly" he steadied Sephiroth as he swayed "you're not going anywhere at the moment"

"What's wrong with me?"

Vincent smiled slightly "you and your brothers share a mental bond, when one of them is in extreme pain such as now, you can't help but suffer along with them and vice versa, it doesn't affect you as much as it affects them so, consider yourself lucky"

"He's growing his wing?"

"Yes, I'll go to the hospital and see Cloud is doing. You stay here and look after your brothers for me"

Sephiroth nodded and watched uncertainly as Vincent left.

* * *

"Rosso, that wasn't necessary" Nero muttered, only half listening to her long description of how she attacked Cloud and almost killed him, he sighed inwardly, she'd probably only injured him slightly but she always had to exaggerate things.

She laughed "it sent them a message didn't it darling? Now they'll know we aren't to be messed with"

Nero's eyes narrowed at the word darling but he let it pass, in an attempt to annoy her he asked causally "he put up a good fight though; from what I saw he almost defeated you"

Rosso glared at him and tossed her head defiantly "the hero of Gaia indeed, it was child's play"

"Remember the objective Rosso" Nero's voice had become deadly calm "Weiss didn't want us to waste time on his companions"

"Weiss doesn't care if a couple of people get hurt"

Nero stiffened "and you know what Weiss cares about, Rosso?" he asked softly, around him the streams of darkness had become more erratic. One wrong answer and Rosso would find herself on the receiving end of his power.

Rosso of course noticed none of this "Weiss only cares about his goal darling, we are all just pawns of his will" her crimson eyes met Nero's and shone with undisguised malice "you, are no exception"

Nero screamed in anguish and lashed out at her with one of his wings, the attack caught her off guard and the metal spikes slashed her arm. She leapt backwards with a snarl drawing her Double blade. "Is that a challenge Nero?"

Nero's eyes were blazing "my brother cares about me Rosso" he tilted his head and watched as the darkness began to form around her feet "but does anyone care about you?" he didn't pull her into Oblivion, he just wrapped the darkness around her so he could watch the effects, she had heard the screams of the living, but could she stand the screams of the dead, forever trapped inside his dark prison?

"Nero, release her"

Nero ignored the hulking giant and kept his eyes firmly on Rosso, her desperate struggles were greatly amusing.

"Nero!"

He struggled wildly as Azul lifted him up by one of his metal wings and started to crush it slowly, for some reason a pain flared and quickly grew too intense for him to bear. It must have looked unusual, like a giant cat playing with a metal bird.

Azul lifted him up to eye level and glared at him "release her"

Nero released Rosso and felt a surge of satisfaction as she collapsed to her knees shaking. At the same time Azul let him go and he crashed down next to her, biting back a yelp as his damaged wing hit the ground. He looked up and at Rosso with triumphant in his eyes "ah, the essence of death" he purred "its ululations are like a lullaby"

He stood up shakily using his wings as a support and cursing the scientists who bound his arms in the restraints. He turned to leave then paused as he saw Azul looking at Rosso with a worried expression; he smirked and was glad of the metal covering his mouth. "It seems that someone does love you after all"

Azul and Rosso both stared at him then came towards him with murder in their eyes. He tilted his head and smiled at them then sank blissfully into Oblivion and closed his eyes.

He had a job to do, his brother had commanded him and he always listened to Weiss no matter how grim the orders were.

* * *

Attack of Deepground hahaha, Rosso's really got to stop showing off. But don't worry i'm sure Cloud's fine

Did anyone else feel really sorry for Nero when they played Dirge of Cerberus. I thought his scene was sad :'(

see ya next time


	36. Chapter 36

Alive again

A/N: ah the joy of GSCE homework

Disclaimer: do you read these anymore?

* * *

"I think I can track down Deepground"

Genesis leaned forward almost eagerly "how?" he breathed

Vincent shifted uncomfortably, he didn't like talking about his demons at the best of times "you know about Chaos, but I have three other demons sharing my body"

Genesis frowned "how is that knowledge going to help" he said bluntly then sighed "sorry, the attack on Cloud has made me nervous, it means they're serious"

"There's one particular demon who could help us, but" Vincent let out a long breath "he's unpredictable and he doesn't listen to reason"

"Sounds like Kadaj" Genesis said pensively and smirked; when Vincent didn't return the smile, he leaned back wearily "what's its name?"

"Hellmasker, he's" Vincent hesitated then went on "he's almost the physical embodiment of my bloodlust, the most inhuman of all my demons although he's the one who looks most like a human

"He's going to track down Deepground" Genesis looked slightly uneasy "I don't really want them to get hurt"

"You'll have to try and persuade him" Vincent closed his eyes "he's not the type to listen to a host"

"Vincent, I…" for once Genesis found himself tongue-tied, what could he say? It's okay to be a host that would really comfort him. He flinched as Vincent stood up "you're not going to transform now are you?" he asked unable to keep a note of panic out of his voice.

Vincent bowed his head "what choice do I have, Deepground won't stop until they get what they want, if Hellmasker can track them down perhaps they won't feel inclined to attack one of us again" he met Genesis gaze with a smile "you just have be cautious, Hellmasker won't kill you unless you give him a reason to"

"I don't think" Genesis's words were lost as a loud feral snarling filled the room; he looked at the creature that stood in Vincent's place and tightened his grip on his rapier.

Hellmasker was about the same height as Vincent with the same black hair; the only difference was that it was shorter and tangled. Orange eyes glared from a white mask that covered his entire face, leaving only a few slits so he could breathe. Tattered remains of a leather bodysuit hung off his thin frame revealing twisted black scars that crossed over his body, and slung almost causally over his shoulders was a long strip of Vincent's cape. But what caught Genesis's attention was the long chainsaw he held loosely in one hand.

Hellmasker tilted his head and narrowed his eyes "so…" he breathed, his voice was low and strangely smooth "who are you?"

"Genesis" he croaked, he had the feeling that this demon was potentially more dangerous than Chaos. Even Chaos had some morals, this demon looked like he didn't understand or care what the word even meant.

Again Hellmasker let out a low threatening growl "you smell of fear Genesis, are you afraid of me?"

Genesis's gaze again flickered down to the chainsaw, he nodded rapidly.

"Good" seeming satisfied the demon looked around the room with some interest before his gaze travelled back to Genesis's face "you wanted something of me didn't you?"

"If you don't mind" Genesis said quickly and Hellmasker laughed

"If it's a hunt then yes" his voice lowered further still and a savage light came into his eyes "it's been years since he let me out"

_I can see why_ Genesis thought and suddenly wished that Sephiroth was down there with him, at least he'd keep a cool head in this situation.

The demon tapped his mask impatiently with a claw, Genesis noticed his hands were twisted and skeletal but had an unsettling amount of dexterity. He resisted the urge to shudder. "Well?" he demanded "or shall I just make you talk"

"It's Deepground" Genesis blurted out "they've already attacked one of my friends"

"Deepground huh" Hellmasker stretched distractedly and seemed to smirk "I've fought SOLDIER before, they end up dead before they can draw their swords"

Genesis could imagine it all too clearly, Soldiers expecting a fair fight getting cut down before they could blink. He shook his head to rid his mind of the image and saw the demon leering at him.

"Leave them to me" he purred and strolled towards the door "I'll be back by tomorrow"

* * *

"Hush brother" Sephiroth said soothingly as he gently carried Yazoo downstairs "Genesis knows more about this than me, he can help"

"I know it just" Yazoo broke off and whined as Sephiroth's hand knocked against his back.

"I'm sorry" he said quietly and came to a halt in the living room where Genesis was sitting on the sofa, a look of utter despair on his face. "Genesis" he said softly and the Ex SOLDIER looked up.

"I've done something stupid"

"Can you tell me later" he nodded at his brother "he needs help"

Genesis run an experienced eye over Yazoo and snapped out of his brooding mood "lay him down here" he nodded to the place next to him and Sephiroth obeyed, quietly soothing the agitated Remnant.

Genesis gently rested his hand on Yazoo's back ignoring both Sephiroth's warning glare and Yazoo hiss of pain, he ran his hand gently up and back Yazoo right shoulder and the Remnant moaned, rolling onto his side and curling up into a ball.

"Before you lecture me" Genesis muttered before Sephiroth could open his mouth "I was checking the wing development which no doubt you'll be happy to know is going smoothly, however" he paused and met Sephiroth's troubled gaze "development will be slower than Kadaj's wing was, so he's be in more pain for longer"

"What can we do to help him?"

"Bind his back with warm bandages and change them regularly, the longer growth time will mean that bones may rip through his skin beforehand, the same thing happened to me Yazoo" he said laying a hand Yazoo's shoulder "it won't last forever I promise" he turned his gaze back to Sephiroth "I suppose Chaos will release the wing"

Sephiroth nodded then frowned "where is father?" he asked looking round the room.

Genesis sighed and sat down wearily "that is what I have to talk to you about" he said tiredly "I think I've done something terrible"

* * *

Hellmasker's loose! hahaha, let's see how Deepground handle this

Jeez I have got to think of a nickname for Hellmasker, his name is too long, any suggestions? :D


	37. Chapter 37

Alive again

A/N: no comment :D

Disclaimer: the wonderful world of final fantasy is not owned by me, I would be rich if it did :D also I don't own the little bit of Darren Shane which I put in here. The one who spots it can decide what happens in the next chapter :D

* * *

The thrill of the hunt, the sounds, the scents and uncontrollable lust for blood.

It consumed him; he was running on instincts alone, following the scent of Mako and darkness, he would follow it until his prey was dead or die in the attempt.

Suddenly he paused and lifted his head, orange eyes fixed ahead of him. Masker grinned and tilted his head in greeting. "Are you Deepground?" he called

"We are all from Deepground, if that is what you mean"

Masker spun round with a snarl, being snuck up on was childish mistake. A female dressed in crimson smiled sadistically at him.

"And who are you darling? Are you lost?"

Masker swung his chainsaw lazily and she had to leap back to avoid it, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Calm yourself Rosso, it's only a demon"

Hellmasker almost snorted, a child was standing in front of him brandishing two sabres. He stepped forward and with a flick of his wrist, easily disarmed the girl.

She looked at her sabres in shock as they flew away from her and looked back up at Masker, he grinned savagely and kicked her in the chest. She yelped as she was knocked backwards and landed in a heap on the floor.

Smiling with pleasure, he ran over to her and picked her up, tearing off his mask. His face twisted at the stench of Mako but he ignored it and bent closer still. He looked up at Rosso and smiled "who's more savage? You or I?"

Rosso blinked at the sight of his face "You're not killing a mere child you know, she's nineteen years old"

Hellmasker shrugged then looked down at the girl again "I am unique" he said softly "I can steal her life away with one kiss" he grinned at Rosso "would you let one of your comrades die?"

For the first time in her life Rosso felt torn between two choices, she wanted to strike down the miserable excuse of a creature in front of her, but he could kill Shelke before she got close, she didn't really like the girl but to have someone she had worked and killed alongside suddenly taken away disturbed her, she hesitated.

Masker grinned.

* * *

Kadaj watched miserably as Tseng and Reno attempted to soothe an agitated Genesis, even the sight of Reno getting slapped didn't cheer him up. Said Turk strolled over to Kadaj and sat down next to him.

"Why the long face?"

"Father's gone and Yazoo's in pain"

Reno patted Kadaj's back clumsily "where's Seph?"

Kadaj raised an eyebrow but answered his question "upstairs with Yazoo and Loz, I came down here so I don't feel as much"

"What?"

Kadaj sighed, it was so tempting to slap him "I can feel their pain and they can feel mine, is it simple enough for you _Reno_?"

Reno glared at him "jeez I was only asking"

"What made you think I wanted to talk to you in the first place" he snapped back, his wing slid out of his back and spread out in a threatening gesture.

Reno however refused to back down and pulled out his Mag rod, Kadaj glanced at the weapon and laughed cruelly.

"You had to resort to bombs to destroy my brothers and even that didn't work, do you really think that thing will injure me?"

Reno was about to lunge at Kadaj when a red sword appeared out of nowhere and pressed against the Turk's throat, at the same time a gun was pressed into Kadaj's side. Genesis and Tseng both glared at each other.

"Leave the Remnant Tseng" Genesis purred "you don't want me to make a mess now would you?"

"Same to you!" Tseng hissed then yelped as Kadaj knocked him aside and glared at him.

"You don't decide my fate!" with that he turned and stormed back upstairs.

Reno pushed Genesis away from him and sighed " even I wasn't _that_ bad as a teenager"

"Must be hormones" Tseng muttered wearily "surely he should have know I wouldn't have done something like that?"

"You sounded pretty serious Tseng"

Tseng ran a hand through his hair and pulled it loose from its ponytail. "It must be hard for him"

Genesis nodded in agreement and as his gaze drifted towards the door, a look of shock and horror came over his face.

A man and a woman stood in the doorway, the woman smiled horribly at them and extended her hand, "I think this belongs to you" dangling from her hand was Hellmasker, the demon looked exhausted and every so often a tremor would run down his body. "He was harder to deal with than I expected" she continued conversationally "but no one can defeat Rosso the Crimson" she threw the demon down at their feet and smirked.

Surprisingly it was Tseng who crouched down next to Hellmasker and moved him away from Rosso who only smirked and waved slightly.

Genesis's eyes were fixed on the man "Nero"

"Good evening brother" he responded formally, he cast a disapproving glance at the demon "surely you could have sent someone stronger?"

"What do you want?" Genesis said icily "you've attacked two of my friends, what do you want?"

"We want you brother" Nero spread out his wings and extended his metal hand towards Genesis "you can help us"

"I told you long ago that the answer was no, I'm not going to change that decision"

Nero stepped closer to him and Genesis felt slightly dizzy, the streams of darkness swirling around him seemed like they were drawing him closer, almost tempting him.

The sudden sharp sound of the gunshot woke him up and he took a few steps back shaking his head.

Nero looked at Tseng then at the bullet in his leg "this can't...be"

Rosso caught him before he fell and glared at them "this won't be the last you see of us Genesis" she turned to glare at Tseng, "you will pay for what you have done" Nero's darkness enveloped them and they were gone.

Tseng lowered his gun "we have to be prepared for when they do come back"

"We?" Genesis asked vaguely and looked at Reno "I didn't hear you saying anything Reno, was Rosso too bad for you to handle?"

Reno bristled angrily but was quelled by a look from Tseng "yes" he went on as if the exchange had never happened "they injured a former comrade of ours"

"I got one of them" the demon muttered propping himself up on his arm "I almost killed her"

Genesis closed his eyes briefly as he heard Masker's apparent disappointment "but could I trust you?"

"You have my word as a Turk"

"And yours?" Genesis turned at Reno with a sly grin "or are you going to let a girl get the better of you?"

Reno drew himself up proudly "sure we'll help out"

They turned as Hellmasker struggled to get up and fell back with a strangled hiss; Genesis moved to his side cautiously and rested his hand on his back "take it easy"

"I still have their scent" his orange eyes blazed with bloodlust "I can still track them down!" he struggled to his feet, took a few paces forward then fell.

Genesis leant forward and held him up; he winced at the demon's scent, a mixture of Mako, sweat and blood. If it was possible the demon was thinner than Vincent.

"Let me go human!" he spat and in his haste to get away, his mask was knocked off and fell to the floor.

"Holy shit" Reno said quietly.

Hellmasker's face was grey and rotted and covered in mixture of scars and stitches; when he saw them staring at him, he let out a low whimper. "Say hello to Vincent for me" he whispered and promptly fainted.

* * *

Le gasp Rosso! Do you actually care about Nero then? And a demon fainting? Kinda OOC i know.

thanks for the nicknames guys they were helpful


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